Objective: To assess the efficacy of an interactive smoking cessation decision-aid application (pp) compared with a smoking cessation static information app on continuous abstinence.
Design: Automated double-blind randomised controlled trial with 6 months follow-up (2014-2015).
Setting: Smartphone-based.
Participants: 684 participants (daily smokers of cigarettes, 18 years old or over) recruited passively from app stores in the USA, Australia, UK and Singapore, and randomised to one of two sub-apps.
Interventions: Behavioural, decision-aid, smartphone application.
Main outcomes: Continuous abstinence at 10 days, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months.
Results: Smokers who received the decision-aid app were more likely to be continuously abstinent at 1 month compared with the information-only app (28.5% vs 16.9%; relative risk (RR) 1.68; 95% CI 1.25 to 2.28). The effect was sustained at 3 months (23.8% vs 10.2%; RR 2.08; 95% CI 1.38 to 3.18) and 6 months (10.2% vs 4.8%; RR 2.02; 95% CI 1.08 to 3.81). Participants receiving the decision-aid app were also more likely to have made an informed choice (31.9% vs 19.6%) and have lower decisional conflict (19.5% vs 3.9%).
Conclusion: A smartphone decision-aid app with support features significantly increased smoking cessation and informed choice. With an increasing number of smokers attempting to quit, unassisted evidence-based decision-aid apps can provide an effective and user-friendly option to many who are making quit decisions without healthcare professionals.
Trial registration number: ACTRN12613000833763.
Keywords: decision-aid; smartphone; smoking cessation.
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