Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Background: Smoking remains the main cause of preventable death and disease worldwide. Those who quit smoking by age 30 gain approximately 10 years to their life expectancy, while those who quit at age 40 or 50 gain 9 or 6 years of life expectancy, respectively. The 2017 Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey reported that about 63% of Canadians who smoked in the past have successfully quit smoking. Varenicline is the most successful approved smoking cessation medication available. Additionally, providing behavioral support helps improve adherence to smoking cessation medication. Being able to provide tailored care and connect with patients through web-based programs has become more popular due to the wide transition to various online platforms. Objective: To create a patient-centered healthbot that helps people adhere to their varenicline prescriptions. Methods: Using the COM-B model and Behaviour Change Wheel as a guide, we conducted 20 interviews with varenicline users. We asked participants about their varenicline adherence habits and what they wanted in a healthbot. Results: Participants were 55% women and 45% men, 20% were between the ages of 18-40, 40% between the ages 41-60, and 40% above the age of 61. The most common reported barrier to adhering to varenicline was people's lack of preparedness to experience side effects (95%, n=19). The most common facilitator was receiving social support from friends, family, or their healthcare provider (95%, n=19). Common features participants wanted in the healthbot were being able to ask it general questions (95%, n=19), receiving positive feedback messages (80%, n=16), and being reminded to take their medication (80%, n=16). Conclusion: We hope to create an evidence-based and individualized healthbot that aids in the cessation of smoking and encouragement of varenicline adherence. This project will allow us to learn how to integrate technology into good health care practices and patient support systems.