Designing mobile applications for smoking cessation in New Zealand

Abstract

Tobacco is a leading cause of preventable death in New Zealand. The smoking rate for New Zealand Māori was 44 percent in 2009, still significantly higher than for non-Māori (18 percent) for both males and females. In this research project, a novel mobile application (SmokefreeNZ) has been designed and developed, which can provide two way interactions between the server and client, whereas traditional text interventions only provide one-way communication (from server to client). This novel approach integrates interactive Mobile Technology, Social Psychology, Persuasive Technology and Behavioural Therapy to deliver personalised content in both English and Te Reo Māori, which is designed to encourage and help individual smokers to quit smoking. It serves as a tool and platform to rouse and maintain the desire and motivation to quit smoking. It is also capable of delivering tailored multimedia content to smokers from different cultural backgrounds, and will provide a clear goal for the quit attempt, maintaining the salience and reward value of making progress towards that goal. It can also use evidence based methods of reducing the desire and impulses to smoke. Currently a cased-controlled trial is undergoing to further investigate the effectiveness of the app as an intervention tool.