Smokers' user experience of smoking cessation apps: A systematic review

Objectives: To explore how smokers view common functions and characteristics of smoking cessation apps. Design: Systematic review. Search sources: CINAHL PLUS, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, EMBASE, IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, and Google Scholar. Review methods: Seven digital databases were searched separately using relevant search terms. Search results were uploaded to Covidence. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were identified with the expert team in advance. Titles, abstracts, and full texts were screened by two reviewers independently. Any disagreements were discussed in research meetings. Pertinent data were extracted and analysed using qualitative content analysis. Findings were presented in a narrative approach. Results: 28 studies were included in this review. The overarching themes were app functionality and app characteristics. Under app functionality, six subthemes emerged: 1) education; 2) tracking; 3) social support; 4) compensation; 5) distraction, and 6) reminding. Under app characteristics, five subthemes emerged: 1) simplification, 2) personalisation, 3) diverse content forms, 4) interactivity, and 5) privacy and security. Conclusion: Understanding user needs and expectations is crucial for developing a programme theory for smoking cessation app interventions. Relevant needs identified in this review should be linked to broader theories of smoking cessation and app-based intervention.

Automated summary

This systematic review explores how smokers perceive the common functions and characteristics of smoking cessation apps. It identifies six subthemes under app functionality: education, tracking, social support, compensation, distraction, and reminding, as well as five subthemes under app characteristics: simplification, personalization, diverse content forms, interactivity, and privacy and security. The study concludes that understanding user needs and expectations is crucial for developing effective smoking cessation app interventions.