Erin Thompson Curlett, Content & Social Media Marketing Manager:
Last week, Dr. Lorien Abroms, Assistant Professor of Prevention & Community Health, George Washington University, joined Alere Wellbeing to present the final webinar presentation of Mobile Apps, Text Messages, & Social Media: Can They Really Help Smokers Quit?, our latest Clear Insights webinar. You can now view the live recording of the webinar on Clear Insights.
In a day when 47% of adults use social media, 85% own cell phones, and 72% use their phones to send and receive text messages, it would seem that the new solution for driving engagement in behavior change programs at the worksite would be through mobile technology and social media. In her presentation, Dr. Abroms shares that there is still a great deal of work to be done with regards to these new tools for tobacco cessation, but also that there is much promise in the future of their effectiveness, especially when used as a supplement to an evidence-based tobacco cessation program.
Research to prove the effectiveness of new technology for tobacco cessation is in its earliest stages. Of text messaging, mobile apps, and social networking platforms, most research has been done on the success rates of evidence-based text messaging suites for tobacco cessation (Dr. Abroms divests that in some cases, quit rates have actually doubled when tobacco users have utilized quit-specific text messages). Quit smoking mobile apps on the market today show promise but haven't quit hit the mark - a study conducted by Dr. Abroms and her GWU colleagues found that none of the quit smoking apps on the market followed clinical guidelines for tobacco cessation; only two recommended quitlines for additional support. Finally, social networking platforms show anecdotal success (check out the Quit For Life® Program Facebook page to see an example of online social support in action), but no formal studies have proven the effectiveness of such platforms on positive health behavior change for the long term.
Yet every day brings new developments, and a wise employer will stay up-to-date on emerging trends in health behavior change and new technology. In this presentation, Dr. Abroms makes recommendations for what to look for in text messaging suites, mobile applications, and social networking platforms as supplements to a comprehensive program based on clinical guidelines for tobacco cessation.
Watch the presentation here.
Read about Dr. Abroms' research here.