A community pharmacist-led smoking cessation intervention using a smartphone app (PharmQuit): a randomized controlled trial
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Abstract
WHO supports the harnessing of mobile technologies to improve access to smoking cessation services. As such, this study evaluated the effectiveness of smoking cessation services provided by community pharmacists using PharmQuit compared with standard care. The study was a prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled trial that included 156 participants who were 18 years or older and smoked at least one cigarette daily for a month, were ready to quit, willing to participate, and had a smartphone. The study was performed at seven community pharmacies in three provinces in Thailand. Participants were allocated to the intervention (n = 78) and control groups (n = 78). Both groups received the usual smoking cessation services with pharmacotherapy and counseling from community pharmacists for 6 months. The intervention group received PharmQuit as an additional service. Both groups were scheduled for follow-up visits on days 7, 14, 30, 60, 120, and 180. The primary outcome was continuous abstinence rate on day 180. The secondary outcomes included 7-day point abstinence rate, number of cigarettes smoked per day, exhaled carbon monoxide levels, adherence rate to the program, and satisfaction with PharmQuit. An analysis using the intent-to-treat principle was performed. Smoking cessation rates and the number of cigarettes smoked per day were significantly higher during the follow-up visits in both groups (p < 0.05). However, there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups. The adherence rate to the smoking cessation program was higher in the intervention group than in the control group (74 days vs. 60 days, p > 0.05). The results showed the benefits of the contribution of community pharmacists. Although the inclusion of PharmQuit did not yield better results than pharmacists' counselling alone, it may help obtain better adherence to smoking cessation programs. Trial registration: Thai Clinical Trials Registry: TCTR20200925004 on September 25, 2020 -retrospectively registered, http://www.clinicaltrials.in.th/index.php?tp=regtrials&menu=trialsearch&smenu=fulltext&task=search&task2=view1&id=6841.
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The results align with previous studies that analyze the efficacy of using Apps combined with smoking cessation treatments compared to the same smoking cessation treatment alone.
“These results align with previous studies that analyze the efficacy of using Apps combined with smoking cessation treatments compared to the same smoking cessation treatment alone (Asayut et al., 2022; Krishnan et al., 2019; O'Connor et al., 2020).”
From Evaluation of effectiveness and acceptability of a psychological treatment for smoking cessation combined with a smartphone App: A pilot study (2024) · cites this paper as Asayut et al., 2022
Focusing specifically on abstinence results in the experimental group, our results are slightly better than those presented by other studies that analyze the use of mobile Apps combined with other smoking cessation treatments.
“Focusing specifically on the abstinence results obtained in the experimental group, our results are slightly better than those presented by other studies that analyze the use of mobile Apps combined with other smoking cessation treatments (e.g., Asayut et al., 2022; Krishnan et al., 2019; O'Connor et al., 2020).”
From Evaluation of effectiveness and acceptability of a psychological treatment for smoking cessation combined with a smartphone App: A pilot study (2024) · cites this paper as Asayut et al., 2022
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- Authors
- Asayut, N., Olson, P. S., Kanjanasilp, J., Thanarat, P., Senkraigul, B., Sittisarn, C., & Suksawat, S.
- Affiliations
- Mahasarakham University (TH)
- Corresponding author
- Olson, Phayom Sookaneknun
- Venue
- PLoS ONE
- Publisher
- Public Library of Science (PLoS)
- Published
- 2022-03-29
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- e0265483
- ISSN
- 1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8963551
- OpenAlex
- W4226139456
- Cited by
- 20
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 2
- FWCI
- 2.48
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Research Square (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Greater South Information System
- Funders
- Health Security Office region 7 Khon Kaen
- Thai Health Promotion Foundation
- Smoke Free Pharmacy Network
- Community Pharmacy Foundation
- Faculty of Pharmacy
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Smoking Behavior and Cessation
- Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Pharmacology › Pharmacy and Medical Practices
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Keywords
- smoking cessation, community pharmacists, pharmacist counseling, mobile application, mobile health, nicotine replacement therapy, abstinence rates, program adherence, exhaled carbon monoxide, Thailand
- MeSH terms
- Behavior Therapy, Humans, Pharmacists, Prospective Studies, Smoking Cessation, Mobile Applications
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