LSU: Using Social Media for Smoking Cessation Interventions, A Systematic Review

Previous studies have shown that smoking tobacco significantly increases both incidence and mortality rates for many diseases. Social media has become one of the most influential platforms for various smoking cessation interventions. However, results from smoking cessation interventions have differed from study to study. Limited studies have summarised cessation outcomes from social media-based interventions. According to Ms. Luo, PhD student at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center (LSUHSC) School of Public Health, the objective of this review is to explore the effectiveness of using social media for smoking cessation.

The LSUHSC SoPH team searched PubMed, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL for articles between June 2008 and June 2018, and assessed the references of selected articles. They included studies that used social media as intervention platforms, provided a baseline assessment before the intervention, and provided smoking cessation outcomes after the intervention.

This review highlights the effectiveness of social media-based smoking cessation intervention studies. Due to the widespread use of social media, as well as its low cost, the team suggests embedding smoking cessation interventions within existing popular social media platforms.

Read full review here.

ASPPH Friday Letter,

(istock, Stock photo ID:525125179)