Fact or Fiction? The Development and Evaluation of a Tobacco Virtual Health Tool

Geneviève Jessiman-Perreault; Rachel Dunn; Angela Erza; Candace Kratchmer; Ameera Memon; Howie Thomson; Lisa Allen Scott

doi:10.3390/ijerph20021397

Fact or Fiction? The Development and Evaluation of a Tobacco Virtual Health Tool

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Jan 12;20(2):1397. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20021397.

Authors

Geneviève Jessiman-Perreault¹, Rachel Dunn¹, Angela Erza¹, Candace Kratchmer¹, Ameera Memon¹, Howie Thomson¹, Lisa Allen Scott^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Provincial Population and Public Health, Alberta Health Services, Holy Cross Centre, 2210 2 St SW, Calgary, AB T2S 3C3, Canada.
² Department of Oncology, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada.
³ Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada.

Abstract

The virtual setting is an important setting for health promotion as individuals increasingly go online for health information and support. Yet, users can have difficulty finding valid, trustworthy, and user-friendly health information online. In 2022, we launched an interactive Fact or Fiction Tobacco virtual health tool. The virtual health tool uses evidence-informed tailored content to engage users and refer them to local tobacco cessation resources. The present paper describes the development, user testing, and evaluation of this tool. The Fact or Fiction virtual health tool was designed by tobacco cessation and health marketing experts and informed by health behaviour theories of change. The tool captures data on who is seeking health information, the user's stage of readiness to quit tobacco products, and whether they act by accessing referred resources. In 2021, we conducted two phases of user testing prior to marketing the tool publicly. After 7 weeks of marketing, we collected data on user interactions with the tool and evaluated the reach of the tool. Results from user testing found the tool to be engaging, easy to use, and quick to complete. Adaptations were made to simplify and condense text and include additional animations. During the first seven weeks of the tool being live, it reached 2306 users, and 38.7% of those users were current or occasional tobacco users. Users were classified based on their intention to quit. Bivariate analysis found that the tool was successful in driving tobacco users towards action as 21.2% tobacco users who were looking to quit and 8.8% of tobacco users who were not looking to quit clicked on local tobacco cessation resources. This virtual health tool is reaching the targeted population and providing tailored information needed at each stage of the continuum of health behaviour change. Among tobacco users looking to quit, this virtual health tool acts as a quick referral to local tobacco cessation resources.

Keywords: e-health; evaluation; tobacco cessation; virtual health.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Health Behavior
Humans
Nicotiana
Smoking Cessation* / methods
Tobacco Products*
Tobacco Use Cessation*
Tobacco, Smokeless*

Grants and funding

Funding provided, in whole or in part by Alberta Health. Strategic direction and applied research support provided by the Alberta Health Services (AHS), Cancer Prevention and Screening Innovation (CPSI) team. Provision of funding by Alberta Health does not signify that this project represents the policies or views of Alberta Health.