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Tag: smoking cessation
06/20/2023

AI Plus Mobile App May Help With Smoking Cessation

Article Excerpt: A new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered mobile app can help individuals quit smoking, according to the results of a recent study published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research. The app uses machine learning to collect information on the location, timing, and triggers of past smoking events to curate messages that assist smokers in managing their urges. Prior to this app, there had been no other ways to provide support to help smokers manage social situations and urges after quitting, Felix Naughton, PhD, MSc, a primary researcher and professor of health psychology at the University of East Anglia School of Health Sciences in England, said in a statement.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/yc56jtx9

Article Source: Pharmacy Times

Posted in: Emerging Technologies // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ;
02/20/2023

A WeChat-based smoking cessation intervention for Chinese smokers: a feasibility study

Luo T, Li MS, Williams D, Fritz J, Beiter K, Phillippi S, Yu Q, Kantrow S, Chen L, Chen Y, & Tseng TS. (2022). A WeChat-based smoking cessation intervention for Chinese smokers: a feasibility study. Translational Behavioral Medicine, 12(10), 1018–1027. https://doi.org/10.1093/tbm/ibac067

This paper reported the development and feasibility findings of a WeChat-based smoking cessation intervention for smokers in China. A total of 403 participants who currently smoked and used WeChat, the most widely used social media platform in China, were recruited and randomized to three study arms: Standard Intervention (N=136), Enhanced Intervention (N=135), and waitlist control (N=132). The Standard intervention consisted of 20 smoking cessation messages for 2 weeks and the Enhanced intervention included 20 smoking cessation messages for 2 weeks and 6 oral health-related messages for another week. Intervention content was informed by the Transtheoretical Model framework and targeted self-efficacy, stimulus control, coping skills, consciousness raising, and oral health. Researchers assessed feasibility by measuring program reach, recruitment rate, cost per person, attrition rate, intervention exposure, engagement, and satisfaction. Attrition from baseline to 4-week follow-up was 46% and program cost was estimated as $0.85 per person. In the Standard and Enhanced intervention arms, all participants read at least one message and on average engaged (sent a Like or comment) with 57% of the messages. A majority of participants were very or somewhat satisfied with the intervention (96%), engaged (72%) and would recommend to others (95%). Overall, findings support feasibility of both the Standard and Enhanced intervention. Given the feasibility and low cost of the WeChat-based program, this has the potential to be scaled up for larger population sizes to deliver smoking cessation treatment at low costs.

Posted in: Cutting Edge Literature // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ;
01/09/2023

New mHealth Intervention Aims to Curb Smoking Among Black HIV Patients

Article Excerpt: Following a $1.3 million grant from the National Institute of Drug Abuse, Lorra Garey, a researcher from the University of Houston RESTORE Lab, plans to lead a research project to assess the impact of an mHealth application to mitigate smoking among Black people with HIV. HIV, a virus that attacks the body’s immune system, affects a large portion of the worldwide population. According to the World Health Organization, it has led to 40 million deaths globally. In addition, the US Department of Veterans Affairs noted that about 20 percent of US citizens with HIV are not aware that they have it, according to the press release.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/456cr8fh

Article Source: mHealthIntelligence

Posted in: Emerging Technologies // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
11/21/2022

Technology a Powerful Tool in The Fight Against Tobacco

Article Excerpt: At the recent World Health Summit in Berlin, the WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced the launch of the Tobacco Cessation Consortium. A mechanism set up to engage the private sector and other non-governmental actors, the Consortium hopes to unlock financing and enhance accessibility for support services for smokers around the globe, especially in developing countries where tobacco use is rising. As Dr Ghebreyesus highlighted, all possible tools must be brought to bear in the fight against tobacco—and advanced technologies are set to play a particularly important role.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/46ksdsnp

Article Source: Analytics Insight

Posted in: Emerging Technologies // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ;
11/02/2022

Digital Solution for Smoking Cessation Shows Positive Results in Randomized Trial

Article Excerpt: A behavioral change digital health company has announced positive results from a randomized controlled trial for its app-based digital tool for tobacco use cessation. Pivot’s tool provides evidence-based tobacco cessation interventions, an interactive breath sensor, human coaching, nicotine replacement therapy, a digital support community, as well as behavioral therapy, the company stated in a press release.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/5dhkv6fe

Article Source: Healio

Posted in: Emerging Technologies // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
08/24/2022

Rewarding Healthy Behaviors

Article Excerpt: Human behavior is difficult to manage: Why do people do the things they do, even when some habits are bad for them? And how can they change these behaviors? Bethany Raiff, Ph.D., a professor of psychology in the College of Science & Mathematics, has designed incentive-based approaches, often using technology, to help people quit smoking, attend treatment for opioid use disorder, and engage in physical activity. “We make a lot of decisions that are not always in our best interest,” Raiff said. “I am trying to understand how to shift people’s decision-making toward healthier behavior.”

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/mwdvd6uc

Article Source: Rowan University News

Posted in: Emerging Technologies // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
04/07/2022

A New Study Finds that A Smoking Cessation App Can Reach a Diverse Group of Users

Article Excerpt: A new study published in the open access journal JMIR Public Health and Surveillance shows that a digital cessation app to quit smoking can draw a diverse audience, including at-risk and underrepresented groups. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tobacco use continues to be the leading preventable cause of death, disease, and disability in the United States. For years, the state of Washington has been investing in helping residents quit tobacco. In 2015, the state broadened its offering to include free access to the 2Morrow Health tobacco cessation smartphone app. Washington State public health prioritizes the needs and well-being of all residents and assures that underserved and at-risk populations are reached. This digital solution allowed the state to cast a wider net to reach more and different tobacco users.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/2p8aevub

Article Source: Newswise

Posted in: Emerging Technologies // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
02/02/2022

Pfizer, Alex Therapeutics Commercialize a Digital Therapy to Help with Smoking

Article Excerpt: Pfizer is partnering with Swedish digital therapeutics (DTx) company Alex Therapeutics to commercialize a smartphone-based nicotine cessation program (dubbed Eila). Currently, Pfizer is helping get the DTx clinically validated. The companies plan to commercialize the DTx in Germany first, and eventually to other international markets.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/yp44z7nh

Article Source: Insider Intelligence eMarketer

Posted in: Emerging Technologies // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
01/19/2022

What Types of Mental Health Apps Actually Work? A Sweeping New Analysis Finds the Data Is Sparse

Article Excerpt: Lisa Marsch, the director of the Dartmouth Center for Technology and Behavioral Health, told STAT that the new meta-review highlights the limitations of existing literature, including that researchers often don’t dig into variables that can impact outcomes and rarely reported adverse effects. She said one of the downsides is that meta-analyses tend to group together interventions that may be quite different from each other, like a mobile app that delivers a “potent therapeutic approach” like cognitive behavioral therapy and another that provides inspirational messages or tips. Each might have different levels of clinical impact.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/5n7x6v9x

Article Source: STAT News

Posted in: Methodologies & Analytics // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;