Impact of Gamification on the Self-Efficacy and Motivation to Quit of Smokers: Observational Study of Two Gamified Smoking Cessation Mobile Apps (Preprint)

Abstract

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.

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.

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.

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. <i>Goal setting</i> was perceived to be the most useful gamification feature, whereas <i>sharing</i> 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 (<i>β</i>=3.35; 95% CI 0.31-6.40) and change in motivation to quit (<i>β</i>=.54; 95% CI 0.15-0.94) between baseline and end-study.

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.