An Interdisciplinary Evidence Matrix QUITSART Mobile Applications

Running Head: QUITSART MOBILE APPLICATIONS: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY EVIDENCE MATRIX

QUITSART MOBILE APPLICATIONS

This paper seeks to identify and explore available literature of relevance to a project that concerns itself with the development and deployment of a smoking cessation mobile app. In so doing, it highlights the search strategy that will condense what is presently known about the issue of teenage smoking and the various solutions that have been explored in the past in an attempt to reign in the concern. It also presents a matrix table comprising of a total of 5 articles that will inform the proposal’s background section.

Description of Search Criteria

Key Words

Teenage smoking happens to be rather widespread. Further, the negative impact of smoking addiction among the youth is significant. It is important to note that to develop the most viable solutions to this particular problem, it would be prudent to assess the extent of the problem across the nation and its impact amongst our youth. Towards this end, the search terms that were utilized to inform these efforts were inclusive of; teen smoking, smoking impact on teens, teenage smoking addiction, underage smoking, and youth smoking statistics.

Various solutions have been deployed in the past in an attempt to reign in teenage smoking. The effectiveness of the said measures varies widely. Some of the said solutions are inclusive of, but they are not limited to; the promotion of alternative smoking devices (such as e-cigarettes and hookahs), engagement in education forums seeking to highlight to the youth the harms of smoking, drafting of smoke-free laws meant to ensure that teenagers do not pick the habit, development of smoking cessation smartphone applications, etc. To ensure the viability of the solution proposed in the current scenario, it would be prudent to ensure that we investigate previous efforts to reign in smoking addiction among the youth. In that case, the keywords that were taken into consideration were; teen smoking solutions, stopping teen smoking, and reducing teenage smoking.

A Smoking Cessation Mobile App would be a valid approach to help teenagers addicted to cigarette smoking kick the habit. Various such apps have been developed and deployed in recent times. The thinking in this case is that almost every person in the country owns a mobile device. Further, teenagers happen to be rather tech savvy. Embracing a tech-based approach to smoking cessation, thus, appears to be a valid approach towards saving our youths from cigarette addiction. It is important to note that each such app has its strengths and weaknesses. In developing better understanding of the said shortcomings and strengths, one would be able to avoid common pitfalls in the development and deployment of the app, while at the same time including the most viable components to the said app. Further, prior to the deployment of a smoking cessation app, there is need to develop better understanding of the regulatory regime. On this basis, the key terms that were deemed relevant on this front were inclusive of; tech-based smoking cessation, smoking cessation app, mobile app smoking, and smoking addiction app.

Database

For this exercise, the EBSCO host database was selected. This particular database was selected owing to its extensive database of useful and reliable sources in diverse fields. Amongst other resources, EBSCO host lists books, poor-reviewed journals, scholarly papers, etc. Further, the database has a wide range of useful tools and functionalities for a research of this nature. The said tools are inclusive of a search function (which would come in handy in the utilization of the key words/terms highlighted above) and the ability to limit search results to specific materials such as journal articles or books.

The Matrix

Table 1 contains a total of 5 articles that were selected following a search of the keywords indicated elsewhere in this text. Thus, to a large extent, the focus of the said articles happens to be: the extent and nature of teenage smoking; solutions that have been developed in the past to reign in teenage smoking; and the viability of a Smoking Cessation Mobile App to help teenagers kick the addiction.

Central Theme: Teenage Smoking and Viable Efforts to Discourage the Habit

In basic terms, the sources selected on this front all tie to one central theme; teenage smoking and viable efforts to discourage the same. From the onset, it would be prudent to note that as Hu et al. (2020) point out, the prevalence of US adolescent smoking has dropped significantly. However, as the authors further observe, teen smoking is still considered a serious problem in the US. This essentially means that the war is far from being won. Azagba, Manzione, Shan and King (2020) point out that although there has been a decrease in prevalence of smoking among teenagers over the last few decades, there is a worrying trend that has been observed of male teenagers starting to smoke earlier and smoking more heavily. In the words of the authors, “identifying trends in smoking behaviors among youth cigarette smokers could inform youth policy and interventions” (Azagba, Manzione, Shan and King, 2020. p. 112). These two articles were selected owing to their invaluable insight into teen smoking trends over the last two decades. Harvey and Chadi (2016) research article provides a summarized format of on the smoking cessation approaches targeted at teens that have been deployed in the past. The strategies suggested will provide context for further research. The articles by Luscher, Berli, Schwaninger and Scholz (2019), and Barnett et al. (2020) provide up-to-date info on the effectiveness of the various Smoking Cessation Mobile Apps available at the moment.

References

Azagba, S., Manzione, L., Shan, L. & King, J. (2020). Trends in Smoking Behaviors Among US Adolescent Cigarette Smokers. Pediatrics, 145(3), 111-116.

Barnett, A., Ding, H., Hay, K.E., Yang, I.A., Bowman, R.V., Fong, K.M. & Marshal, H.M. (2020). The effectiveness of smartphone applications to aid smoking cessation: A meta-analysis. Cinical eHealth, 3, 69-81.

Harvey, J. & Chadi, N. (2016). Strategies to promote smoking cessation among adolescents. Paediatr Child Health, 21(4), 201-204.

Hu, T., Gall, S.L., Windome, R., Bazzano, L.A., Burns, T.L., Daniels, S.R… Jacobs, D.R. (2020). Childhood/Adolescent Smoking and Adult Smoking and Cessation: The International Childhood Cardiovascular Cohort (i3C) Consortium. JAHA, 9(7), 45-49.

Luscher, J., Berli, C., Schwaninger, P. & Scholz, U. (2019). Smoking cessation with smartphone applications (SWAPP): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. BMC Public Health, 19(1400), 77-83.

Matrix Table

Source Citation

Purpose/Problem

Design/Sample

Instruments/

Measures

[Include Reliability/Validity]

Results

[Include actual data]

Strengths/

Weaknesses

Azagba, S., Manzione, L., Shan, L. & King, J. (2020). Trends in Smoking Behaviors Among US Adolescent Cigarette Smokers. Pediatrics, 145(3), 111-116.

In the present paper, the authors sought to chart the smoking behaviors among teen smokers in the United States. In so doing, the authors hoped that findings would in this case help in the formulation of the most appropriate interventions to discourage cigarette smoking in this age group.

The National Youth Tobacco Survey Data was utilized in the analysis of cigarette smoking frequency trends.

The indicators (tobacco-related) provided by the National Youth Tobacco Survey were in relation to high school and middle school students – specifically grades 9 - 12 and grades 6 – 8 respectively.

In essence, the National Youth Tobacco Survey utilized a stratified cluster sample design (3-stage). It is also important to note that for each student, it utilized a weighting factor resulting in data that could be deemed nationally representative.

The authors made the finding to the effect that between the year 2011 and 2018, teenage smokers not only smoked fewer cigarettes per day, but also smoked fewer days.

More specifically, the authors found that within the time period under consideration, “there was a decrease in smoking ?10 days (50.0% to 38.3%), ?20 days (37.2% to 26.3%), and 30 days (26.6% to 18.2%) among current smokers.”

Strength:

The utilization of stratified analyses could have come in handy in seeking to ensure that all population subgroups had the right representation in the sample.

Weakness:

Small sample sizes

Barnett, A., Ding, H., Hay, K.E., Yang, I.A., Bowman, R.V., Fong, K.M. & Marshal, H.M. (2020). The effectiveness of smartphone applications to aid smoking cessation: A meta-analysis. Cinical eHealth, 3, 69-81.

The present study sought to establish just how effective dedicated smartphone apps are (with or without the incorporation of other interventions) amongst those who would want to quit smoking.

The authors of the study embraced a meta-analysis approach.

The sample size range in this case was 11 – 1,599.

A mixed-effects approach was used in the conduction of the meta-analysis.

The said approach helped in the computation of pooled risk ratios.

According to the authors, the confidence intervals in this case were 95%.

The study made a finding to the effect that there is limited evidence that smartphone apps come in handy in the promotion of adult smoker quit rates. More specifically, in the words of the authors, the study clearly indicates “that at present, there is no such evidence with a small 15% (RR 1.15, 95% CI 0.85 to 1.57) non-significant increase in abstinence rates at 2–6?months.