Can smokers get help from their iphone? Not unless they use the iphone to beat themselves about the face when the urge to smoke strikes. According to app reviewers and experts in preventative health, the apps "don't meet accepted standards".
A study published online and in the March issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found that the 47 apps reviewed rarely helped users get assistance through counseling, hotlines or anti-smoking medications. About half of the apps supported hypnosis, which has questionable effectiveness.
They were pretty poor. There wasnt one I thought I could recommend to a smoker, said study lead author Lorien Abroms, a professor of health communication and marketing at George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services.
Even so, apps do hold potential to be a valuable tool to help people stop smoking, Abroms said. Researchers have already shown that text messages provide helpful motivation to people who are trying to quit, and she believes smartphones might be even more useful because they are capable of providing a fuller multimedia experience. Youve got a great tool in your pocket, she said.
The iPhone apps reviewed by Abroms and colleagues including both free and paid applications that were available in 2009 did not make the grade, although they did some of the right things.
Theyd give you personalized motivation, and at least a quarter of them would ask you how much you smoke and when you plan to quit, and then theyd give you personalized feedback about the money youd save and what youd gain, she said. What they did terribly is that they didnt recommend or refer to a quit line.
Also, she said, on the whole, they didnt mention using nicotine replacement therapy, which has been proven to help people quit smoking. And very few apps helped you to get social support or reminded you to get it, which is also crucial to quitting smoking.
Abroms added that about half of the apps in the study embraced hypnosis. She said there is no evidence that hypnosis helps people quit smoking.
Frances Stillman, an associate professor of health, behavior and society at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said the study findings make sense because they focus on the availability of proven techniques. She believes that behavioral therapy, along with anti-smoking medications when necessary, is the ideal approach to smoking cessation, although its not a one-size-fits-all thing.
It is important, she said, to connect people to the right resources, understanding that it may take them a number of tries before they finally quit for good.
Whats next for apps? Abroms said the Legacy Foundation, which advocates against smoking, has released a promising iPhone app. She said she hopes other public health groups will follow.
One Gilbert resident, who is admittedly addicted to browsing itunes for the latest and greatest apps, wonders if there is a "universal behavior modification" app that could help with many different kinds of addictive and compulsive behaviors. Hmmm, a new reason to shop for apps!
Sources: Health Behavior News Service, Newswire
****************************************************************************
Tracy Lynn Cook is a writer in Gilbert, Arizona. To read more, please visit her blog at www.TLCsThoughts.com, or browse by topic:
National Environmental News
Special Needs KidsEnvironmental HealthHeadline NewsHealth and HappinessNational Education HeadlinesGilbert Elections 2010 Examiner
National Military Education **NEW TOPIC!!
Tracy can be found on Facebook (Tracy Lynn Cook) and on Twitter @TLCsThoughts.
No comments:
Post a Comment