How Smart are Smartphone Apps for Smoking Cessation? A Content Analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Smartphone technology is ideally suited to provide tailored smoking cessation support, yet it is unclear to what extent currently existing smartphone "apps" use tailoring, and if tailoring is related to app popularity and user-rated quality.

Methods

We conducted a content analysis of Android smoking cessation apps (n = 225), downloaded between October 1, 2013 to May 31, 2014. We recorded app popularity (>10,000 downloads) and user-rated quality (number of stars) from Google Play, and coded the existence of tailoring features in the apps within the context of using the 5As ("ask," "advise," "assess," "assist," and "arrange follow-up"), as recommended by national clinical practice guidelines.

Results

Apps largely provided simplistic tools (eg, calculators,

SUBMITTER: Hoeppner BB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5942604 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature