Impact of Gamification on the Self-efficacy and Motivation to Quit of Smokers: Observational Study o
Friday, May 21, 2021
Posted by: Natalia Gromov
Rajani
NB, Mastellos N, Filippidis FT.
Impact of Gamification on
the Self-efficacy and Motivation to Quit of Smokers: Observational Study of Two
Gamified Smoking Cessation Mobile Apps.
JMIR Serious Games. 2021 Apr 27;9(2):e27290. doi: 10.2196/27290. PMID:
33904824.
Background.
The proportion of smokers making quit attempts and the proportion of smokers
successfully quitting have been decreasing over the past few years. Previous
studies have shown that smokers with high self-efficacy and motivation to quit
have an increased likelihood of quitting and staying quit. Consequently,
further research on strategies that can improve the self-efficacy and
motivation of smokers seeking to quit could lead to substantially higher
cessation rates. Some studies have found that gamification can positively
impact the cognitive components of behavioral change, including self-efficacy
and motivation. However, the impact of gamification in the context of smoking
cessation and mobile health has been sparsely investigated.
Objective.
This study aims to examine the association between perceived usefulness,
perceived ease of use, and frequency of use of gamification features embedded
in smoking cessation apps on self-efficacy and motivation to quit smoking.
Methods.
Participants were assigned to use 1 of the 2 mobile apps for a duration of 4
weeks. App-based questionnaires were provided to participants before app use
and 2 weeks and 4 weeks after they started using the app. Gamification was
quantitatively operationalized based on the Cugelman gamification framework and
concepts from the technology acceptance model. The mean values of perceived
frequency, ease of use, and usefulness of gamification features were calculated
at midstudy and end-study. Two linear regression models were used to
investigate the impact of gamification on self-efficacy and motivation to quit.
Results. A
total of 116 participants completed the study. The mean self-efficacy increased
from 37.38 (SD 13.3) to 42.47 (SD 11.5) points and motivation to quit increased
from 5.94 (SD 1.4) to 6.32 (SD 1.7) points after app use. Goal setting was
perceived to be the most useful gamification feature, whereas sharing was
perceived to be the least useful. Participants self-reported that they used the
progress dashboards the most often, whereas they used the sharing feature the
least often. The average perceived frequency of gamification features was
statistically significantly associated with change in self-efficacy (β=3.35;
95% CI 0.31-6.40) and change in motivation to quit (β=.54; 95% CI 0.15-0.94)
between baseline and end-study.
Conclusions.
Gamification embedded in mobile apps can have positive effects on self-efficacy
and motivation to quit smoking. The findings of this study can provide
important insights for tobacco control policy makers, mobile app developers,
and smokers seeking to quit.
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