Pre-testing mHealth interventions: a case report

Introduction Smoking is one of the most important risk factors of non-communicable diseases. Even if most pregnant women are aware of the risks of smoking during pregnancy, many of them do not stop smoking, or if they do, they have a quick relapse after birth. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a mHealth couple intervention for preventing smoking relapse after birth. Material and Methods Based on a pre-set interview guide, we conducted and analyzed 12 interviews with women who just gave birth, who have quit smoking during pregnancy and remained smoke-free. The women were presented screenshots of an early version of the smoking relapse prevention app and samples of the text messages that are going to be used during the intervention. We transcribed and analyzed the interviews, to assess the feasibility and acceptability of the program. Results The subject’s mean age was 30 years-old and the mean age at smoking onset was 18 years-old. Most of the women (10/12) had a positive opinion about the intervention, without major concerns. When asked about their partner’s participation in the program, they either said that they do not know how their partner would react (3/12) or they thought the partner would not be interested in the program (6/12). Most found the text messages to be motivating (11/12) and all of them thought the messages were easy to understand (12/12), stating that they would not mind receiving them three times per day, five days per week. Conclusions Overall, most of the women would accept to participate in a mHealth couple intervention for preventing smoking relapse after birth. Additional efforts may be needed to engage life partners in the intervention. Technology-based interventions could represent a major step forward improving public health in Romania. Funding This work was supported by a grant of Ministry of Research and Innovation, CNCS - UEFISCDI, project number PN-III-P4-ID-PCE-2016-0632, within PNCDI III