About
Project STOP started with a blended (face-to-face and online-based) training program aiming at enhancing the knowledge and skills of health care professionals interested in providing smoking cessation services to their patients. From that educational experience came the idea of designing the smartphone application (app), DECISION-t (D-t), a mobile health decision support tool that can help health care providers make quicker and better decisions about smoking cessation treatment approaches for their patients.
FAQ
What is the beta testing phase of Project STOP?
- This is the process of pretesting an app called D-t which was designed to support health care providers during the process of considering and deciding upon an effective behavioral treatment and pharmacological approach for smoking cessation counseling with patients.
- The goal of this phase, which is called beta testing, is to use participant feedback to assess the app’s usability, functionality, and acceptability, and to refine its design for future users.
- The app was developed by the Health Equity Research Group led by Irene Tami-Maury, DMD, DrPH, at UTHealth School of Public Health
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who can participate in the study?
- Any health care provider working in the Texas Medical Center, at least 18 years old with ≥ 50% time devoted to patient care, with an active email address, an active phone number, and an Android smartphone may agree to participate in the program.
2. What will I do as a study participant?
- Great question! The study participants are required to participate in the enrollment process and two Webex meetings.
- Screening is conducted and if you are eligible to participate, you will be enrolled in the beta testing phase.
- The first Webex meeting will be scheduled within one week of being enrolled in the process.
- At the first Webex meeting, you will use the D-t app in two mock sessions where you will provide brief advice for smoking cessation to a research assistant pretending to be a patient.
- The second Webex meeting will be scheduled within one week of conducting the first Webex meeting.
- This second and last Webex meeting will include another mock session and an online assessment during a structured interview.
- Each Webex meeting will last less than 60 minutes.
3. Can you tell me about the smoking cessation app?
- The D-t app is based on the 5A’s framework: Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, and Arrange. It involves asking the patients about their smoking behavior, advising them to quit smoking, assessing their willingness to quit, assisting them with available resources and pharmacotherapies, and finally arranging follow-up meetings to evaluate patient progress toward quitting smoking.
- The D-t app will guide you, as a health care professional, in estimating the patient’s smoking behavior and providing a personalized quitting plan to the patient.
4. What is the time commitment involved?
- Not much! The enrollment process will last about 30 minutes and each virtual meeting will last approximately 60 minutes.
5. Do I have to do any in-person visits?
- Not at all. All the meetings are virtual.
6. Will I be compensated for my participation?
- Yes! You will receive electronic gift cards after enrolling, scheduling the Webex meetings, and completing the assessments.
7. Are my responses and any feedback I provide confidential?
- Absolutely! None of the information you provide will be shared with anyone outside of our research team.
Resources
mHealth: New horizons for health through mobile technologies. Based on the findings of the Second Global Survey on eHealth. WHO Global Observatory.