Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Jan 1:170:37-42.
doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2016.10.029. Epub 2016 Nov 4.

Single-arm trial of the second version of an acceptance & commitment therapy smartphone application for smoking cessation

Jonathan B Bricker  1 , Wade Copeland  2 , Kristin E Mull  2 , Emily Y Zeng  2 , Noreen L Watson  2 , Katrina J Akioka  2 , Jaimee L Heffner  2
Affiliations

Single-arm trial of the second version of an acceptance & commitment therapy smartphone application for smoking cessation

Jonathan B Bricker et al. Drug Alcohol Depend. .

Abstract

Background: The first randomized trial of a smartphone application (app) for adult smoking cessation (SmartQuit 1.0) revealed key features that predict cessation. These findings guided the revision of this Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)-based application (SmartQuit 2.0), which was primarily tested to examine participant receptivity, short-term cessation and reduction, and the relationship between program completion, smoking cessation and reduction. Secondarily, outcomes were descriptively compared with the SmartQuit1.0 trial.

Method: Adult participants (78% female, 25% with high school or less education, 30% unemployed) were recruited into the single-arm pilot trial (N=99) of SmartQuit 2.0 with a two-month follow-up (85% retention).

Results: Regarding receptivity, 84% of participants were satisfied with SmartQuit 2.0 (vs. 59% for SmartQuit1.0), 73% would recommend it to a friend (vs. 48% for SmartQuit1.0), 81% found the ACT exercises useful for quitting (vs. 44% for SmartQuit1.0). At the 2-month follow-up, the quit rates were 21% for 7-day point prevalence (vs. 23% for SmartQuit1.0), 11% for 30-day point prevalence (vs. 13% for SmartQuit1.0), and 75% of participants reduced their smoking frequency (vs. 57% for SmartQuit1.0). Among program completers (24% of total sample), the quit rates were 33% for 7-day point prevalence, 28% for 30-day point prevalence, and 88% of participants reduced their smoking frequency.

Conclusions: The revised app had high user receptivity, modest quit rates, and high smoking reduction rates. Program completion may be key to boosting the app's effectiveness.

Keywords: Acceptance; Mindfulness; Nicotine dependence; Smartphone; Smoking cessation; mHealth.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interests. In July 2016, Jonathan Bricker was a consultant to GlaxoSmithKline, the manufacturer of nicotine replacement therapies. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center holds a patent on the ACT app for smoking cessation, and 2Morrow® holds an exclusive license to distribute the app.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Participant Flow Diagram
Figure 2
Figure 2
SmartQuit 2.0 Main Menu
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abroms LC, Boal AL, Simmens SJ, Mendel JA, Windsor RA. A randomized trial of text2quit: a text messaging program for smoking cessation. Am J Prev Med. 2014;47:242–250. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Benowitz NL, Jacob P, III, Ahijevych K, Jarvis MJ, Hall S, LeHouezec J, Hansson A, Lichtenstein E, Henningfield J, Tsoh J, Hurt RD, Velicer W (SRNT Subcommittee on Biochemical Verification) Biochemical verification of tobacco use and cessation. Nicotine Tob Res. 2002;4:149–159. - PubMed
    1. Boccio M, Sanna RS, Adams SR, Goler NC, Brown SD, Neugebauer RS, Ferrara A, Wiley DM, Bellamy DJ, Schmittdiel JA. Telephone-based coaching: a comparison of tobacco cessation programs in an integrated health care system. Am J Health Promot. 2015 doi: 10.4278/ajhp.140821-QUAN-424. Epub ahead of print. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bricker J, Wyszynski C, Comstock B, Heffner JL. Pilot randomized controlled trial of web-based acceptance and commitment therapy for smoking cessation. Nicotine Tob Res. 2013;15:1756–1764. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bricker JB, Mull KE, Kientz JA, Vilardaga R, Mercer LD, Akioka KJ, Heffner JL. Randomized, controlled pilot trial of a smartphone app for smoking cessation using acceptance and commitment therapy. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2014;143:87–94. - PMC - PubMed