Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40162165›Full record

ArticleDigital health

Identifying behaviour change techniques, technical features and implementation options for a virtual reality intervention to motivate adult smokers to quit: A focus group study with healthcare and virtual reality experts.

Tosan Okpako, Corinna Leppin, Alessandro Chincotta, Dimitra Kale, Olga Perski, Jamie Brown

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Digital health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Tosan OkpakoDepartment of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8794-8280
Corinna LeppinDepartment of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0652-1937
Alessandro ChincottaDepartment of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0007-3065-1401
Dimitra KaleDepartment of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8845-7114
Olga PerskiHerbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3285-3174
Jamie BrownDepartment of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2797-5428

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective: In this study, individuals working in healthcare or virtual reality (VR) were invited to contribute towards developing a VR intervention to encourage adults to quit smoking, by building upon user-generated ideas from a previous co-design study with adult smokers. Methods: Three online focus groups were with healthcare workers ( Results: In the first theme, experts agreed that previous co-design content showing the outcomes of quitting or not quitting could be helpful. Suggested behaviour change techniques included 'prompt comparative imagining of future outcomes', and 'imaginary reward'. Experts suggested a format where users could customise an avatar and select what content they see, creating a tailored narrative. There was a subtheme about the potential unsuitability of co-design content based on extreme fear appeals, which experts thought could trigger fatalism or defensiveness. The second theme covers considerations to make VR safe and inclusive. For example, making the experience seated for those with limited mobility, hygiene protocols and a screening process to exclude smokers at risk of harm (individuals with frailty, photosensitive epilepsy or a serious mental health condition). The last theme outlines the benefits and potential barriers of implementing VR with the 'ask, advise, act' model for smoking cessation used in healthcare contexts. Conclusion: Findings suggest that VR has the potential to deliver embodied, interactive and customisable smoking cessation messages, rooted in behavioural theory. The suggestions will inform the development of a prototype which will subsequently be evaluated.

Indexed as

behaviour changedigital healtheHealthontologiesperson-based approachqualitativesmokingVirtual reality

Identifiers

PMID40162165
PMCPMC11951901

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.