Eliciting preferences for the uptake of smoking cessation apps: Discrete choice experiment

Szinay, Dorothy, Cameron, Rory A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7442-0935, Jones, Andy, Whitty, Jennifer A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5886-1933, Chadborn, Tim, Brown, Jamie and Naughton, Felix (2025) Eliciting preferences for the uptake of smoking cessation apps: Discrete choice experiment. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 27. ISSN 1439-4456

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Abstract

Background: If the most evidence-based and effective smoking cessation apps are not selected by smokers wanting to quit, their potential to support cessation is limited. Objective: This study sought to determine the attributes that influence smoking cessation app uptake and understand their relative importance to support future efforts to present evidence-based apps more effectively to maximize uptake. Methods: Adult smokers from the United Kingdom were invited to participate in a discrete choice experiment. Participants made 12 choices between two hypothetical smoking cessation app alternatives, with five predefined attributes reflecting domains from the theoretical domains framework: (1) monthly price of the app (environmental resources), (2) credible source as app developer (social influence), (3) social proof as star rating (social influence), (4) app description type (beliefs about consequences), and (5) images shown (beliefs about consequences); or opting out (choosing neither app). Preferences and the relative importance of attributes were estimated using mixed logit modeling. Willingness to pay and predicted uptake of the most and least preferred app were also calculated. Results: A total of 337 adult smokers completed the survey (n=168, 49.8% female; mean age 35, SD 11 years). Participants selected a smoking cessation app rather than opting out for 90% of the choices. Relative to other attributes, a 4.8-star user rating, representing social proof, was the strongest driver of app selection (mean preference parameter 2.27, SD 1.55; 95% CI 1.95-2.59). Participants preferred an app developed by health care–orientated trusted organization (credible source) over a hypothetical company (mean preference parameter 0.93, SD 1.23; 95% CI 0.72-1.15), with a logo and screenshots over logo only (mean preference parameter 0.39, SD 0.96; 95% CI 0.19-0.59), and with a lower monthly cost (mean preference parameter –0.38, SD 0.33; 95% CI –0.44 to –0.32). App description did not influence preferences. The uptake estimate for the best hypothetical app was 93% and for the worst, 3%. Participants were willing to pay a single payment of up to an additional US $6.96 (UK £5.49) for 4.8-star ratings, US $3.58 (UK £2.82) for 4-star ratings, and US $2.61(UK £2.06) for an app developed by a trusted organization. Conclusions: On average, social proof appeared to be the most influential factor in app uptake, followed by credible source, one perceived as most likely to provide evidence-based apps. These attributes may support the selection of evidence-based apps.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Data Availability Statement: The dataset generated during this study is available on Open Science Framework [36]: Szinay DC, Cameron R, Jones A, Whitty J, Chadborn T, Brown J, et al. Eliciting preferences for the uptake of smoking cessation apps: a discrete choice experiment. Open Science Framework. 2021. URL: https://osf.io/5439x/ [accessed 2021-12-21]
Uncontrolled Keywords:	behavior change,discrete choice experiment (dce),health app,mhealth,smoking cessation,theoretical domains framework (tdf),decision sciences (miscellaneous),public health, environmental and occupational health ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1800/1801
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > School of Health Sciences Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Health Economics Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Norwich Institute for Healthy Aging Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Respiratory and Airways Group Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Health Services and Primary Care Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Behavioural and Implementation Science Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Health Promotion Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Lifespan Health
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	16 Jan 2025 01:10
Last Modified:	18 Jan 2025 01:08
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/98229
DOI:	10.2196/37083

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