2007 Final Program - Society of Behavioral Medicine

SOCIETY of BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE
Rapid Communications Posters Friday, March 23, 2007 • 6:30 PM-8:00 PM • Poster Session C
Poster Session C:
Health Communication and Technology;
Measurement and Methods; Population Health,
Policy and Advocacy; Prevention;
Psychological and Person Factors in
Health and Behavior Change
Exhibit Hall A & B
3417
FEASIBILITY OF ADMINISTERING A SELF-HELP SMOKING
CESSATION INTERVENTION VIA CELLULAR TELEPHONE
Bradford W. Applegate, PhD, 1 William T. Riley, PhD 2 and Anahi
Collado-Rodriquez, BA 1
1
PICS, Inc., Reston, VA and 2 National Institute of Mental Health,
Bethesda, MD.
Most cigarette smokers attempt to quit smoking on their own.
There is a need to develop and refine technology to assist tobacco
users to quit using empirically supported self-help treatments. This
study presents data from a study that examined the feasibility of
implementing a Scheduled Gradual Reduction (SGR) smoking
cessation program on cellular handsets, using JAVA-based cellular
telephones, SMS text messaging, and HTTP data transfer to a central
server.
Method: A SGR program was adapted from earlier work and
implemented on JAVA-enabled cellular handsets. The program uses
a 7-day baseline of cigarette recording to determine baseline smoking
behavior, and then institutes the SGR program that prompts the
user to smoke at increasing intervals. The program also used a secure
HTTP data transfer system to upload data to a central server to
monitor program usage. Thirty five tobacco users pilot tested the
system in a single group, open-label study. Subjects were enrolled,
provided with a JAVA-enabled cellular phone, instructed to use the
program to quit smoking, and returned for follow-up at 8 weeks.
Outcome variables included number of days interacting with the
program, 7-day abstinence and smoking behavior, and qualitative
ratings of the program. The sample was 53% male, 54% White, 43 ±
11 years of age, and smoked 22 ± 11 cigarettes per day (CPD).
Results: Mean daily interaction of the program was 30 ± 22 days.
Sixteen of 35 subjects reported a 24-hour quit, and 6.3% reported 7-
day abstinence (biochemically verified) at eight weeks. Mean smoking
rates were reduced by 50% to 11 ± 8 CPD at follow up, P < .001.
Qualitative reports from subjects showed mixed usability ratings,
with most reporting the program was easy to use, but that it reduced
tobacco use too rapidly.
Conclusions: Data from this study indicate that cellular handsets are
a feasible means of delivering inexpensive but empirically supported
self-help smoking cessation treatments.
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Bradford W. Applegate, PhD,
PICS, Inc., Reston, VA, 20148; bapplegate@lifesign.com
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3418
INTERNET MAY POSE AN EFFECTIVE CHANNEL FOR
THE DELIVERY OF SUPPORTIVE HEALTH PROMOTION
INTERVENTIONS TO SOCIALLY ANXIOUS ADULTS
Jeanne M. Gabriele, MS, MA, 1 Deborah F. Tate, PhD, 2 Brian D.
Carpenter, PhD, 1 Megan E. Jablonski 2 and Edwin B. Fisher, PhD 2
1
Psychology, Washington University, Saint Louis, MO and 2 Health
Behavior and Health Education, University of North Carolina,
Chapel Hill, NC.
Previous research has shown that social anxiety can be a barrier
to help-seeking and the utilization of in-person treatment services
(Goodwin and Fitzgibbon, 2002). The present study examined
whether social anxiety moderates the effect of e-coach support on
weight loss in a 12-week weight loss e-coaching program. Forty
participants (87.5% female, 65.0% white) attended an in-person
baseline assessment in which weight was measured. Social anxiety
was measured with the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale.
Participants were randomized to an e-coach support or no e-coach
support condition. All participants received weekly weight loss lessons
and feedback graphs via e-mail. Participants in the e-coach support
condition also received weekly e-mails providing individualized
assistance in reaching weight loss goals. At the end of the intervention,
weight was measured in an in-person assessment. Participants with
high fear of negative evaluation (FNE) reported less weight loss
support from family members and friends than participants with
low FNE (p < .05). This finding suggests that individuals with social
anxiety may have difficulty obtaining and/or receiving weight loss
support. A hierarchical regression found an interaction between
FNE and e-coach support when predicting weight loss (p < .05).
For participants in the e-coach support conditions, FNE was related
to greater weight loss (r = -.46, p < .05). This suggests that e-coach
supportive interventions may by especially helpful for those high in
social anxiety who may not access or who may not respond well to
conventional health promotion interventions. In contrast, FNE was
unrelated to weight loss for participants in the no e-coach support
condition. These findings suggest that individuals with social anxiety
may be in greater need of weight loss support and respond favorably
to e-coach support provided over the internet.
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Jeanne M. Gabriele, MS, MA,
Health Behavior and Health Education, University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7440; Jgabriele@wustl.edu
3419
DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMMUNICATION CHANNEL
PREFERENCE INVENTORY
Jennifer Doucet, Master of Arts, 1 Marimer Santiago, BA 1 and
Wayne Velicer, PhD 1
1
University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI; 2 University of Rhode
Island, Kingston, RI and 3 University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI.
Interventions for health promotion have employed a number of
communication modalities. One potential method of improving
intervention effectiveness is to identify an individual’s preferred
communication channel and match the intervention to the channel.
The Learning Styles research area has identified a range of learner
preferences for assimilating and accommodating information.
However, the internet and other advanced technologies were
not included in the original measures. The goal of this study was