Abstract 63: Mobile Health Technology for Tailored Tobacco Cessation Support in Lao People’s Democratic Republic: A Pilot Trial
Authors: Kulkarni Shweta , Xangsayarath Phonepadith , Xayavong Dalouny , Soulaphy Chanthavy , Phandouangsy Khatthanaphone , Keopaseuth Phayvanh , Keothongkou Khamsing , Le Tina , Vidrine Damon , Vidrine Jennifer , Frank-Pearce Summer , Businelle Michael , Bui Thanh 
Published: June 2023

Purpose: Tobacco smoking (cigarettes: &gt;90%) is the leading cause of preventable cancer morbidity and mortality in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). Nonetheless, there are very few tobacco treatment programs in Lao PDR and none are accessible nationwide. Our parent project aims to use mobile health (mHealth) technology, which is highly scalable and affordable, to help Lao people quit smoking cigarettes. The aim of this pilot randomized controlled trial is to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of our novel mHealth intervention.

Methods: Fifty participants were recruited from Setthathirath Hospital in Vientiane and Champasak Hospital in Champasak Province (n=25/site). Participants were randomized to Standard Care (SC, n=25) or Automated Messaging (AM, n=25). SC comprised of brief advice to quit, a 2-week supply of nicotine patches, and self-help materials (prepared and printed by our team based on the World Health Organization’s guide to quit). AM consisted of the SC components plus a fully automated smartphone-based treatment program that involved interactive and tailored proactive messaging for 3 months (~2-3 messages per day), delivered by our InsightTM system.

Results: All participants were Lao ethnicity and 14.3% were female. Results indicated high feasibility of the intervention (i.e., 90.7% of study messages/weekly assessments were delivered and 88.7% of these were read/completed). There was no loss to follow-up at 3 months. AM was highly acceptable: 91.6% agreed or strongly agreed that the InsightTM app was easy to use, 100% of AM participants agreed or strongly agreed that the message content was easy to understand, and 95.8% felt comfortable with opening messages in public places. Regarding preliminary efficacy, changes in self-efficacy to avoid smoking in various social situations (measured on a 5-point Likert scale) from baseline to the 3-month follow-up was 0.41 for AM participants and -0.12 for SC participants (P=0.68). Biochemically verified 7-day point prevalence abstinence at 3 months follow-up were comparably high for both groups (29.2% for AM and 28.0% for SC, relative risk: 0.96, 95% confidence interval: 0.39, 2.32).

Conclusion: Our mHealth-based AM program for smoking cessation is highly feasible, disseminable, acceptable, and potentially efficacious in Lao PDR.

Citation Format: Shweta Kulkarni, Phonepadith Xangsayarath, Dalouny Xayavong, Chanthavy Soulaphy, Khatthanaphone Phandouangsy, Phayvanh Keopaseuth, Khamsing Keothongkou, Tina Le, Damon Vidrine, Jennifer Vidrine, Summer Frank-Pearce, Michael Businelle, Thanh Bui. Mobile Health Technology for Tailored Tobacco Cessation Support in Lao People’s Democratic Republic: A Pilot Trial [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 11th Annual Symposium on Global Cancer Research; Closing the Research-to-Implementation Gap; 2023 Apr 4-6. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2023;32(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 63.