Feasibility and acceptability of using Wi-Fi access points to provide smoking cessation help at 17 airports and 38 railway stations across China / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

Background:@#The use of mobile phone significantly improved the outcomes of tobacco cessation. However, its feasibility and acceptability were unclear in the Chinese population. This study was to explore the feasibility of using Wi-Fi access points (APs) as a platform to provide smoking cessation help at 17 airports and 38 railway stations across China.@*Methods:@#This study was divided into two stages: platform development and population survey. In the first stage, a survey platform was developed and incorporated into Wi-Fi service at airports and railway stations, which could provide survey content as a pop-up window when participants tried to access the Wi-Fi service. In the second stage, a population survey was conducted to explore the intention to receive tobacco cessation support.@*Results:@#A total of 20,199 users participated and 13,628 users submitted the survey, with a response rate of 67.47%. The smoking rate was 30.9%. A total of 86.58% of smoking participants and 2.44% of non-smoking participants wished to receive tobacco cessation support, respectively. The multivariate analysis showed intention to receive support did not differ in age, gender, and heaviness of smoking (P > 0.05).@*Conclusion:@#Providing tobacco cessation support via Wi-Fi APs is feasible and efficient, and smokers have high intention to receive tobacco cessation support. It is suggested hospitals, academia, information technology industries, and government agencies must work together to provide tobacco cessation support via mHealth.

Aplicaciones Médicas Móviles: definiciones, beneficios y ries / Mobile Medical Applications: definitions, benefits and risks

En los últimos años se ha visto el desarrollo constante en las tecnologías de las telecomunicaciones, con un uso creciente de dispositivos móviles inalámbricos en la población, con la capacidad de acceso a información en todo momento, incluyendo los temas en salud. De estas nuevas tecnología, las aplicaciones móviles en salud dirigidas a teléfono inteligentes han visto un crecimiento exponencial en el mundo y en Colombia, siendo utilizadas por pacientes y por personal prestador de salud, sin embargo, existe preocupación en relación con la idoneidad y riesgos asociados a su uso. Este artículo presenta un panorama acerca del uso de estas nuevas tecnologías aplicadas al área de la salud, las definiciones de los dispositivos médicos, los estudios en referentes a su uso, los potenciales riesgos, las regulaciones existentes.

In recent years telecommunications technologies have seen a development constant, with an increasing use of wireless mobile devices in the population with the ability to access information anytime, including health topics. Of these new technologies mobile health applications targeting smartphones have an exponential growth in the world and in Colombia, being used by patients and staff health provider, but there is concern regarding the adequacy and risks associated with its use. This article presents an overview about the use of these new applied technologies to the health area, the definitions of medical devices, studies relative to their use, potential risks and regulations.