Spanish-language Android app created to help Hispanic smokers quit

University of Houston researchers have created a first-of-its-kind, Spanish-language Android app called Impacto, designed specifically to help Hispanic smokers quit with guidance designed to reflect their cultural experiences. Results of the pilot test, published in the Journal of Substance Abuse & Addiction Treatment, indicate the app works – decreasing daily smoking rates and improving smoking cessation. 

"Hispanic individuals who smoke face greater challenges in quitting and a higher risk of smoking-related health problems than the general population," reports Michael Zvolensky, Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished University Professor of psychology, who created the app. "These disparities are driven by factors like limited access to treatment and chronic stress from experiences such as racial and ethnic discrimination, making it even harder to quit smoking and overcome its harmful effects." The project is co-led by Richard A. Brown from Health Behavior Solutions, Inc. 

Impacto helps people quit smoking by addressing stress and anxiety that can make quitting harder. To support them through the process, the app focuses on how each person experiences anxiety, including physical symptoms and negative emotions. 

In this pilot study, 30 Hispanic smokers tested the app. All participants reported long smoking careers given their average age of 31 years old (15+ years of daily smoking) and they smoked at a moderately high rate of 15 cigarettes per day. 

User-friendly 

Users are guided through four lessons per week across eight weeks. In the first week, they learn interoceptive exercises – those that help them identify and become more aware of their body's state – to manage anxiety while quitting. The exercises include activities like spinning in a chair, doing jumping jacks or breathing fast to help them get used to sensations like a racing heartbeat, which reduces anxiety. 

Participants practice the interoceptive exercises daily and prior to their quit attempt. These exercises decrease emotional responsivity to bodily and emotional stress and make quitting easier. They must do it before quitting, much like a runner would have to practice run increasingly longer to eventually run a marathon." 

Michael Zvolensky, Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished University Professor of Psychology

The end of week four is the participant's official quit day. 

"Results indicated that Impacto had a positive impact on smoking abstinence with over half of the sample (65.4 %) reporting smoking abstinence 4-weeks post-quit," Zvolensky said. "Moreover, rates of cigarettes smoked per day and anxiety sensitivity levels significantly decreased from baseline through 4-weeks post-quit. High rates of feasibility, acceptability and engagement were also observed." 

The app will now be evaluated in a rigorous randomized control clinical trial throughout the United States. 

Additional collaborators on the pilot test include The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston; The University of Texas at Austin; and Bristol Myers Squibb.