Effectiveness of web-based tailored smoking cessation advice reports (iQuit): a randomized trial

• Published in: Addiction (Abingdon, England) England), 2012-12, Vol.107 (12), p.2183-2190
• Main Authors: Mason, Dan, Gilbert, Hazel, Sutton, Stephen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abstinence; Access to information; Addiction; Addictive behaviors; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Biological and medical sciences; Cognition; Counseling - methods; Desintoxication. Drug withdrawal; Drug addicts; E-health; Effectiveness studies; Empowerment; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Internet; internet intervention; Intervention; Male; Medical sciences; Medical treatment; online support; Patient Satisfaction; Primary Groups; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Questionnaires; Recurrence; Remote Consultation - methods; Self Care - methods; self-help; Smoking; Smoking cessation; Smoking Cessation - methods; Smoking Prevention; Substance use; tailored interventions; tailoring; Telephone; Therapy, Computer-Assisted - methods; Tobacco smoking; Tobacco, tobacco smoking; Toxicology; Treatment Outcome; Treatments; Trials; United Kingdom; web-based intervention; Websites
• ISSN: 0965-2140; 1360-0443
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2012.03972.x

Aims To determine whether web‐based tailored cessation advice, based on social cognitive theory and the perspectives on change model, was more effective in aiding a quit attempt than broadly similar web‐based advice that was not tailored. Design Participants were allocated randomly to one of two groups, to receive either a cessation advice report and progress report that were tailored to individual‐level characteristics or a cessation advice report that presented standardized (non‐tailored) content. Tailoring was based on smoking‐related beliefs, personal characteristics and smoking patterns, self‐efficacy and outcome expectations. Setting Participant enrolment and baseline assessments were conducted remotely online via the study website, with the advice reports presented by the same website. Participants Participants (n = 1758) were visitors to the QUIT website who were based in the United Kingdom, aged 18 years or over and who smoked cigarettes or hand‐rolled tobacco. Measurements Follow‐up assessments were made at 6 months by telephone interview. The primary outcome measure was self‐reported 3 months prolonged abstinence, and secondary outcomes were 1 month prolonged abstinence, 7‐day and 24‐hour point prevalence abstinence. Findings The intervention group did not differ from the control group on the primary outcome (9.1% versus 9.3%; odds ratio = 1.02 95% confidence interval 0.73–1.42) or on any of the secondary outcomes. Intervention participants gave more positive evaluations of the materials than control participants. Conclusions A web‐based intervention that tailored content according to smoking‐related beliefs, personal characteristics and smoking patterns, self‐efficacy and outcome expectations, was not more effective than web‐based materials presenting broadly similar non‐tailored information.