Q Sense Acceptability Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Acceptability of a smoking cessation app (Q Sense) among smokers receiving routine NHS smoking cessation support
IRAS ID
159828
Contact name
Felix Naughton
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Cambridge
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 30 days
Research summary
Three million people in the UK attempt to quit smoking each year, yet most of these attempts fail. One of the main reasons for this is because smokers experience cues to smoke from the environment. The Q Sense app has been developed to help smokers manage environmental cues by sending real-time personalised location-specific support when they enter previously identified high-risk locations after their quit date has arrived. Following from an initial feasibility study of Q Sense, this study aims to explore the acceptability of Q Sense used alongside routine smoking cessation support.
Participants will be current smokers aged 16 - 70 who are willing to set a quit-date within two weeks of starting the study, who have primary use of an Android smartphone, are willing to install and use the Q Sense app, and are willing to complete an end of study survey and interview if required. Participants will be recruited from GP Practices and Stop Smoking Services acting as Participant Identification Centres. Consent will be obtained verbally and audio-recorded. Participants will be asked to complete a brief initial telephone survey, and asked to install Q Sense onto their smartphone. Participants will then be asked to log each time they smoke prior to their quit date, so that the app can gather information about the situations and locations where the participant smoke. This will enable it to send location-specific support to participants once their quit-date arrives. Participants will be asked use Q Sense for 6-7 weeks, after which they will be telephoned and asked to complete a brief survey about their experiences. A subset will be invited to a face-to-face interview. Information gathered through app usage, surveys and interviews will be used to further develop and improve Q Sense, and to inform the parameters of a future randomised control trial.
REC name
South West - Cornwall & Plymouth Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/SW/1145
Date of REC Opinion
1 Dec 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion