NoFumo+: A Clinical Trial of an mHealth for Smoking Cessation with Hospitalized Patients

Patricia García-Pazo, Albert Sesé, Jordi Llabrés and Joana Fornés-Vives
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Patricia García-Pazo: Department of Nursing and Physiotherapy, University of the Balearic Islands, Balearic Island, 07122 Palma, Spain
Albert Sesé: Balearic Islands Health Research Institute (IdISBa), Hospital Universitario Son Espases, Balearic Island, 07120 Palma, Spain
Jordi Llabrés: Balearic Islands Health Research Institute (IdISBa), Hospital Universitario Son Espases, Balearic Island, 07120 Palma, Spain
Joana Fornés-Vives: Department of Nursing and Physiotherapy, University of the Balearic Islands, Balearic Island, 07122 Palma, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 19, 1-14

Abstract: Smartphone applications (apps) improve accessibility to smoking cessation treatments. The NoFumo+ app administers a cognitive behavioral therapy program for smoking cessation. This study evaluates the efficacy of NoFumo+ for quitting smoking or reducing cigarette consumption versus the usual information-based treatment. A clinical trial was conducted with 99 hospitalized smokers, 54 pseudo-randomly assigned to the app treatment and 45 to the usual treatment. The two groups had homogeneous baseline characteristics to ensure comparability. Abstinence was evaluated at post-treatment (two months) and at a six-month follow-up. The results obtained indicate that participants who receive the usual treatment are 5.40 times more likely to continue smoking than those who undergo the app treatment (95% CI = [1.35; 20.15]). Participants who do not succeed in quitting smoking with the app manage to decrease their habitual consumption. Users who successfully complete treatment with NoFumo+ access all its contents and use the chat, but without requesting professional support. There is not enough empirical evidence to attribute this success to any specific element of the app. NoFumo+ achieves better abstinence rates than the usual information-based treatments, and the goal of generalizing its use to the non-hospitalized smoking population may be achievable in the future.

Keywords: smoking behavior; mHealth; cognitive behavioral therapy; clinical trial (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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