Smoking Cessation Apps: A Systematic Review of Format, Outcomes, and Features

Smoking cessation interventions are effective, but they are not easily accessible for all treatment-seeking smokers. Mobile health (mHealth) apps have been used in recent years to overcome some of these limitations. Smoking cessation apps can be used in combination with a face-to-face intervention (...

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Autores principales: Barroso-Hurtado, María, Suárez-Castro, Daniel, Martínez-Vispo, Carmela, Becoña, Elisardo, López-Durán, Ana
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8583115/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34770178
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111664
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author Barroso-Hurtado, María
Suárez-Castro, Daniel
Martínez-Vispo, Carmela
Becoña, Elisardo
López-Durán, Ana
author_facet Barroso-Hurtado, María
Suárez-Castro, Daniel
Martínez-Vispo, Carmela
Becoña, Elisardo
López-Durán, Ana
author_sort Barroso-Hurtado, María
collection PubMed
description Smoking cessation interventions are effective, but they are not easily accessible for all treatment-seeking smokers. Mobile health (mHealth) apps have been used in recent years to overcome some of these limitations. Smoking cessation apps can be used in combination with a face-to-face intervention (FFSC-Apps), or alone as general apps (GSC-Apps). The aims of this review were (1) to examine the effects of FFSC-Apps and GSC-Apps on abstinence, tobacco use, and relapse rates; and (2) to describe their features. A systematic review was conducted following the internationally Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Of the total 6016 studies screened, 24 were included, of which nine used GSC-Apps and 15 FFSC-Apps. Eight studies reported significant differences between conditions in smoking cessation outcomes, with three of them being in favor of the use of apps, and two between different point-assessments. Concerning Apps features, most GSC-Apps included self-tracking and setting a quit plan, whereas most of the FFSC-Apps included self-tracking and carbon monoxide (CO) measures. Smartphone apps for smoking cessation could be promising tools. However, more research with an adequate methodological quality is needed to determine its effect. Nevertheless, smartphone apps’ high availability and attractiveness represent a great opportunity to reach large populations.
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spelling pubmed-85831152021-11-12 Smoking Cessation Apps: A Systematic Review of Format, Outcomes, and Features Barroso-Hurtado, María Suárez-Castro, Daniel Martínez-Vispo, Carmela Becoña, Elisardo López-Durán, Ana Int J Environ Res Public Health Systematic Review Smoking cessation interventions are effective, but they are not easily accessible for all treatment-seeking smokers. Mobile health (mHealth) apps have been used in recent years to overcome some of these limitations. Smoking cessation apps can be used in combination with a face-to-face intervention (FFSC-Apps), or alone as general apps (GSC-Apps). The aims of this review were (1) to examine the effects of FFSC-Apps and GSC-Apps on abstinence, tobacco use, and relapse rates; and (2) to describe their features. A systematic review was conducted following the internationally Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Of the total 6016 studies screened, 24 were included, of which nine used GSC-Apps and 15 FFSC-Apps. Eight studies reported significant differences between conditions in smoking cessation outcomes, with three of them being in favor of the use of apps, and two between different point-assessments. Concerning Apps features, most GSC-Apps included self-tracking and setting a quit plan, whereas most of the FFSC-Apps included self-tracking and carbon monoxide (CO) measures. Smartphone apps for smoking cessation could be promising tools. However, more research with an adequate methodological quality is needed to determine its effect. Nevertheless, smartphone apps’ high availability and attractiveness represent a great opportunity to reach large populations. MDPI 2021-11-06 /pmc/articles/PMC8583115/ /pubmed/34770178 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111664 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Systematic Review
Barroso-Hurtado, María
Suárez-Castro, Daniel
Martínez-Vispo, Carmela
Becoña, Elisardo
López-Durán, Ana
Smoking Cessation Apps: A Systematic Review of Format, Outcomes, and Features
title Smoking Cessation Apps: A Systematic Review of Format, Outcomes, and Features
title_full Smoking Cessation Apps: A Systematic Review of Format, Outcomes, and Features
title_fullStr Smoking Cessation Apps: A Systematic Review of Format, Outcomes, and Features
title_full_unstemmed Smoking Cessation Apps: A Systematic Review of Format, Outcomes, and Features
title_short Smoking Cessation Apps: A Systematic Review of Format, Outcomes, and Features
title_sort smoking cessation apps: a systematic review of format, outcomes, and features
topic Systematic Review
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8583115/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34770178
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111664
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