Development of StopAdvisor: A theory-based interactive internet-based smoking cessation intervention

ABSTRACT Reviews of internet-based behaviour-change interventions have shown that they can be effective but there is considerable heterogeneity and effect sizes are generally small. In order to advance science and technology in this area, it is essential to be able to build on principles and evidenc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Translational behavioral medicine 2012-09, Vol.2 (3), p.263-275
Main Authors: Michie, Susan, Brown, Jamie, Geraghty, Adam W A, Miller, Sascha, Yardley, Lucy, Gardner, Benjamin, Shahab, Lion, McEwen, Andy, Stapleton, John A, West, Robert
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cross Cultural Psychology
Family Medicine
General Practice
Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
Health Psychology
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Original Research
Public Health
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Summary:ABSTRACT Reviews of internet-based behaviour-change interventions have shown that they can be effective but there is considerable heterogeneity and effect sizes are generally small. In order to advance science and technology in this area, it is essential to be able to build on principles and evidence of behaviour change in an incremental manner. We report the development of an interactive smoking cessation website, StopAdvisor, designed to be attractive and effective across the social spectrum. It was informed by a broad motivational theory (PRIME), empirical evidence, web-design expertise, and user-testing. The intervention was developed using an open-source web-development platform, ‘LifeGuide’, designed to facilitate optimisation and collaboration. We identified 19 theoretical propositions, 33 evidence- or theory-based behaviour change techniques, 26 web-design principles and nine principles from user-testing. These were synthesised to create the website, ‘StopAdvisor’ (see http://www.lifeguideonline.org/player/play/stopadvisordemonstration ). The systematic and transparent application of theory, evidence, web-design expertise and user-testing within an open-source development platform can provide a basis for multi-phase optimisation contributing to an ‘incremental technology’ of behaviour change.
ISSN:1869-6716
1613-9860
DOI:10.1007/s13142-012-0135-6