Grant: Operating Grant: CCS/CIHR Action Grants

Need for project Cigarette smoking causes several forms of cancer and quitting smoking is the best way to prevent this. Efficacious treatments are available for smokers ready to quit. But, there are few interventions for smokers in the pre-action stages of readiness to quit. A team of developers created a smartphone application to move smokers not ready to quit from pre-action to action stages of quitting. Feasibility testing is complete but broad-scale implementation among primary care providers is untested. Goal of project The goal of this project is to implement and evaluate a novel, evidence-based smartphone application aimed at moving current smokers not yet ready to make a quit attempt from pre-action to action stages of cessation. Implementation will take place in an existing network of primary health care providers affiliated with the Ottawa Model for Smoking Cessation. Project description We will recruit smokers not interested in quitting from an existing network of primary care providers partnered with the Ottawa Model for Smoking Cessation. All patients will receive counselling; half will be randomly assigned to receive a 14-day interactive smoking cessation program via their smartphone. Surveys will be conducted to measure motivation, confidence, and readiness to quit. Quit attempts and smoking status will also be documented. Future impact Canada has announced a target of less than a 5% smoking rate by 2035. Reaching this national target will require novel approaches to promote and accelerate cessation. The use of a secure, interactive smartphone applicationbased cessation program has demonstrated feasibility and efficacy in motivating current smokers not interested in quitting to seriously consider cessation with increased rates of quit-attempts and cessation. If validated in a larger study, this inexpensive approach has significant implications for increasing rates of cessation given the ability to scale and deliver it broadly across Canada and beyond.