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Interpreting the outcomes of automated internet-based randomized trials: example of an International Smoking Cessation Study.

ABSTRACT: Smoking is one of the largest contributors to the global burden of disease. Internet interventions have been shown to reduce smoking rates successfully. However, improved methods of evaluating effectiveness need to be developed for large-scale Internet intervention trials.To illustrate a method to interpret outcomes of large-scale, fully automated, worldwide Internet intervention trials.A fully automated, international, Internet-based smoking cessation randomized controlled trial was conducted in Spanish and English, with 16,430 smokers from 165 countries. The randomized controlled trial replicated a published efficacy trial in which, to reduce follow-up attrition, 1000 smokers were followed up by phone if they did not provide online follow-up data.The 7-day self-reported abstinence rates ranged from 36.18% (2239/6189) at 1 month to 41.34% (1361/3292) at 12 months based on observed data. Given high rates of attrition in this fully automated trial, when participants unreachable at follow-up were presumed to be smoking, the abstinence rates ranged from 13.63% (2239/16.430) at 1 month to 8.28% (1361/16,430) at 12 months. We address the problem of interpreting results with high follow-up attrition rates and propose a solution based on a smaller study with intensive phone follow-up.Internet-based smoking cessation interventions can help large numbers of smokers quit. Large-scale international outcome studies can be successfully implemented using automated Internet sites. Interpretation of the studies' results can be aided by extrapolating from results obtained from subsamples that are followed up by phone or similar cohort maintenance methods.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00721786; http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00721786 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/63mhoXYPw).

SUBMITTER: Leykin Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3374542 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Interpreting the outcomes of automated internet-based randomized trials: example of an International Smoking Cessation Study.

Leykin Yan Y Aguilera Adrian A Torres Leandro D LD Pérez-Stable Eliseo J EJ Muñoz Ricardo F RF

Journal of medical Internet research 20120207 1

<h4>Background</h4>Smoking is one of the largest contributors to the global burden of disease. Internet interventions have been shown to reduce smoking rates successfully. However, improved methods of evaluating effectiveness need to be developed for large-scale Internet intervention trials.<h4>Objective</h4>To illustrate a method to interpret outcomes of large-scale, fully automated, worldwide Internet intervention trials.<h4>Methods</h4>A fully automated, international, Internet-based smoking ...[more]

PMID: 22314016

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Project description:BackgroundMany best practice smoking cessation programs use fully automated internet interventions designed for nonmobile personal computers (desktop computers, laptops, and tablets). A relatively small number of smoking cessation interventions have been designed specifically for mobile devices such as smartphones.ObjectiveThis study examined the efficacy and usage patterns of two internet-based best practices smoking cessation interventions.MethodsOverall, 1271 smokers who wanted to quit were randomly assigned to (1) MobileQuit (designed for-and constrained its use to-mobile devices, included text messaging, and embodied tunnel information architecture) or (2) QuitOnline (designed for nonmobile desktop or tablet computers, did not include text messages, and used a flexible hybrid matrix-hierarchical information architecture). Primary outcomes included self-reported 7-day point-prevalence smoking abstinence at 3- and 6-month follow-up assessments. Program visits were unobtrusively assessed (frequency, duration, and device used for access).ResultsSignificantly more MobileQuit participants than QuitOnline participants reported quitting smoking. Abstinence rates using intention-to-treat analysis were 20.7% (131/633) vs 11.4% (73/638) at 3 months, 24.6% (156/633) vs 19.3% (123/638) at 6 months, and 15.8% (100/633) vs 8.8% (56/638) for both 3 and 6 months. Using Complete Cases, MobileQuit's advantage was significant at 3 months (45.6% [131/287] vs 28.4% [73/257]) and the combined 3 and 6 months (40.5% [100/247] vs 25.9% [56/216]) but not at 6 months (43.5% [156/359] vs 34.4% [123/329]). Participants in both conditions reported their program was usable and helpful. MobileQuit participants visited their program 5 times more frequently than did QuitOnline participants. Consistent with the MobileQuit's built-in constraint, 89.46% (8820/9859) of its visits were made on an intended mobile device, whereas 47.72% (691/1448) of visits to QuitOnline used an intended nonmobile device. Among MobileQuit participants, 76.0% (459/604) used only an intended mobile device, 23.0% (139/604) used both mobile and nonmobile devices, and 0.1% (6/604) used only a nonmobile device. Among QuitOnline participants, 31.3% (137/438) used only the intended nonmobile devices, 16.7% (73/438) used both mobile and nonmobile devices, and 52.1% (228/438) used only mobile devices (primarily smartphones).ConclusionsThis study provides evidence for optimizing intervention design for smartphones over a usual care internet approach in which interventions are designed primarily for use on nonmobile devices such as desktop computers, laptops. or tablets. We propose that future internet interventions should be designed for use on all of the devices (multiple screens) that users prefer. We forecast that the approach of designing internet interventions for mobile vs nonmobile devices will be replaced by internet interventions that use a single Web app designed to be responsive (adapt to different screen sizes and operating systems), share user data across devices, embody a pervasive information architecture, and complemented by text message notifications.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT01952236; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01952236 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6zdSxqbf8).

Project description:BackgroundMany placebo-controlled trials have demonstrated the efficacy of individual pharmacotherapies approved for smoking cessation. However, few direct or indirect comparisons of such interventions have been conducted. We performed a meta-analysis to compare the treatment effects of 7 approved pharmacologic interventions for smoking cessation.MethodsWe searched the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Tobacco Information and Prevention database as well as MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library for published reports of placebo-controlled, double-blind randomized controlled trials of pharmacotherapies for smoking cessation. We included studies that reported biochemically validated measures of abstinence at 6 and 12 months. We used a hierarchical Bayesian random-effects model to summarize the results for each intervention.ResultsWe identified 70 published reports of 69 trials involving a total of 32 908 patients. Six of the 7 pharmacotherapies studied were found to be more efficacious than placebo: varenicline (odds ratio [OR] 2.41, 95% credible interval [CrI] 1.91-3.12), nicotine nasal spray (OR 2.37, 95% CrI 1.12-5.13), bupropion (OR 2.07, 95% CrI 1.73-2.55), transdermal nicotine (OR 2.07, 95% CrI 1.69-2.62), nicotine tablet (OR 2.06, 95% CrI 1.12-5.13) and nicotine gum (OR 1.71, 95% CrI 1.35-2.21). Similar results were obtained regardless of which measure of abstinence was used. Although the point estimate favoured nicotine inhaler over placebo (OR 2.17), these results were not conclusive because the credible interval included unity (95% CrI 0.95-5.43). When all 7 interventions were included in the same model, all were more efficacious than placebo. In our analysis of data from the varenicline trials that included bupropion control arms, we found that varenicline was superior to bupropion (OR 2.18, 95% CrI 1.09-4.08).InterpretationVarenicline, bupropion and the 5 nicotine replacement therapies were all more efficacious than placebo at promoting smoking abstinence at 6 and 12 months.

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Interpreting the outcomes of automated internet-based randomized trials: example of an International Smoking Cessation Study.

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Interpreting the outcomes of automated internet-based randomized trials: example of an International Smoking Cessation Study.

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