scholarly journals Acceptability of real-time video counselling compared to other behavioural interventions for smoking cessation in rural and remote areas

2020 ◽  
Vol 217 ◽  
pp. 108296
Author(s):  
Judith Byaruhanga ◽  
John Wiggers ◽  
Christine L Paul ◽  
Emma Byrnes ◽  
Aimee Mitchell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Smoking Cessation ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Rural And Remote ◽  
Behavioural Interventions ◽  
Remote Areas ◽  
Rural And Remote Areas

scholarly journals Connectivity of Real-Time Video Counselling Versus Telephone Counselling for Smoking Cessation in Rural and Remote Areas: An Exploratory Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (8) ◽  
pp. 2891
Author(s):  
Judith Byaruhanga ◽  
Christine L. Paul ◽  
John Wiggers ◽  
Emma Byrnes ◽  
Aimee Mitchell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Smoking Cessation ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Randomised Trial ◽  
Rural And Remote ◽  
Remote Areas ◽  
Smoking Cessation Counselling ◽  
Rural And Remote Areas ◽  
Feasible Option ◽  
Communication Software

This study compared the connectivity of video sessions to telephone sessions delivered to smokers in rural areas and whether remoteness and video app (video only) were associated with the connectivity of video or telephone sessions. Participants were recruited into a randomised trial where two arms offered smoking cessation counselling via: (a) real-time video communication software (201 participants) or (b) telephone (229 participants). Participants were offered up to six video or telephone sessions and the connectivity of each session was recorded. A total of 456 video sessions and 606 telephone sessions were completed. There was adequate connectivity of the video intervention in terms of no echoing noise (97.8%), no loss of internet connection during the session (88.6%), no difficulty hearing the participant (88.4%) and no difficulty seeing the participant (87.5%). In more than 94% of telephone sessions, there was no echoing noise, no difficulty hearing the participant and no loss of telephone line connection. Video sessions had significantly greater odds of experiencing connectivity difficulties than telephone sessions in relation to connecting to the participant at the start (odds ratio, OR = 5.13, 95% confidence interval, CI 1.88–14.00), loss of connection during the session (OR = 11.84, 95% CI 4.80–29.22) and hearing the participant (OR = 2.53, 95% CI 1.41–4.55). There were no significant associations between remoteness and video app and connectivity difficulties in the video or telephone sessions. Real-time video sessions are a feasible option for smoking cessation providers to provide support in rural areas.

scholarly journals Cost Per Participant Recruited From Rural and Remote Areas Into a Smoking Cessation Trial Via Online or Traditional Strategies: Observational Study

10.2196/14911 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. e14911 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Byaruhanga ◽  
Flora Tzelepis ◽  
Christine Paul ◽  
John Wiggers ◽  
Emma Byrnes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Smoking Cessation ◽  
Rural And Remote ◽  
Recruitment Method ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Remote Areas ◽  
Rural And Remote Areas ◽  
Online Strategies ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Online Methods

Background Rural and remote residents are more likely to smoke than those who live in major cities; however, recruitment of research participants from rural and remote areas can be challenging. The cost per participant recruited from rural and remote areas via online (eg, social media) and traditional strategies (eg, print) has implications for researchers on how to allocate resources to maximize the number of participants recruited. Participant characteristics such as demographics, financial stress, mental health, and smoking-related factors may be associated with recruitment method (ie, online vs traditional), and so it is important to understand whether certain subgroups are more likely to be recruited via a particular strategy. Objective This study aimed to determine the cost per participant recruited and examine whether characteristics such as demographics, financial stress, mental health, and smoking-related factors may be associated with the recruitment method (ie, online vs traditional). Methods Participants were recruited into a randomized trial that provided smoking cessation support. Eligible participants were aged 18 years or older; used tobacco daily; had access to video communication software, internet, and telephone; had an email address; and lived in a rural or remote area of New South Wales, Australia. This study describes the natural (observed) experience of recruiting participants via online and traditional methods into a smoking cessation trial. Results Over 17 months, 655 participants were recruited into the smoking cessation trial. A total of 88.7% (581/655) of the participants were recruited via online methods. Moreover, 1.8% (12/655) of the participants were recruited from remote locations and none from very remote areas. The cost per participant recruited by the various online strategies ranged from Aus $7.29 (US $4.96, £4.09, and €4.43) for Gumtree, a local online classified website, to Aus $128.67 (US $87.63, £72.20, and €78.28) for email. The cost per participant recruited using traditional strategies ranged from Aus $0 (US $0, £0, and €0) for word of mouth to Aus $3990.84 (US $2757.67, £2227.85, and €2477.11) for telephone. Women had greater odds of being recruited via online methods than men (odds ratio 2.50, 95% CI 1.42-4.40). No other characteristics were associated with the recruitment method. Conclusions The cost per participant recruited via online and traditional strategies varied, with the range being smaller for online than traditional recruitment strategies. Women have greater odds of being recruited via online strategies into rural smoking cessation trials. Trial Registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12617000514303; https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=372584&isReview=true

scholarly journals Smoking cessation interventions for people living in rural and remote areas: a systematic review protocol

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. e041011
Author(s):  
Alistair Lum ◽  
Eliza Skelton ◽  
Kristen Louise McCarter ◽  
Tonelle Handley ◽  
Lucy Judd ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Smoking Cessation ◽  
Behaviour Change ◽  
Mechanisms Of Action ◽  
Intervention Effectiveness ◽  
Rural And Remote ◽  
Remote Areas ◽  
Tobacco Marketing ◽  
Rural And Remote Areas

IntroductionSmoking rates among people living in rural and remote areas are higher and quit rates are lower over the past 10 years compared with people living in suburban and urban areas. Higher smoking rates contribute to greater tobacco-related disease and morbidity in rural and remote areas. Physical and social isolation, greater exposure to pro-tobacco marketing, pro-tobacco social norms, and lower socioeconomic and educational levels are contributing to these higher smoking rates and lower quit rates. Smoking cessation interventions for people in rural and remote areas have been conducted, however little is known about their effectiveness or their mechanisms of action as well as the quality of such research. Behaviour change techniques (BCTs) are mechanisms of action derived from behaviour change theory, such as goal setting and reward. Improved understanding of the contribution of BCTs for smoking cessation in the rural and remote population will support future intervention development. We aim to review the literature on smoking cessation interventions for people living in rural and remote areas to inform evidence about intervention effectiveness and mechanisms of action.Methods and analysisWe will conduct a systematic review using seven scientific databases (EMBASE, MedLine, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Cochrane, Informit Health and Scopus). We will include peer-reviewed journal articles published in English that examine a smoking cessation intervention delivered to people living in rural and remote areas in the USA, Canada and Australia. We will examine outcome data relating to intervention effectiveness (eg, point prevalence abstinence or continuous abstinence), as well as the BCTs used in included interventions and their relationship with intervention outcomes. We will also assess the feasibility, acceptability and quality of research interventions of included articles, and provide graded recommendations based on the review outcomes. Data will be synthesised using narrative approaches and interpreted using content analysis.Ethics and disseminationEthics was not required for this systematic review. The results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication and at conferences by presentations.PROSPERO registration number177398.

scholarly journals A Possible Smart Metering System Evolution for Rural and Remote Areas Employing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Internet of Things in Smart Grids

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 1627
Author(s):  
Giovanni Battista Gaggero ◽  
Mario Marchese ◽  
Aya Moheddine ◽  
Fabio Patrone
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Internet Of Things ◽  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Smart Metering ◽  
Rural And Remote ◽  
Electrical Grid ◽  
Remote Areas ◽  
Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Consumption Data ◽  
Rural And Remote Areas

The way of generating and distributing energy throughout the electrical grid to all users is evolving. The concept of Smart Grid (SG) took place to enhance the management of the electrical grid infrastructure and its functionalities from the traditional system to an improved one. To measure the energy consumption of the users is one of these functionalities that, in some countries, has already evolved from a periodical manual consumption reading to a more frequent and automatic one, leading to the concept of Smart Metering (SM). Technology improvement could be applied to the SM systems to allow, on one hand, a more efficient way to collect the energy consumption data of each user, and, on the other hand, a better distribution of the available energy through the infrastructure. Widespread communication solutions based on existing telecommunication infrastructures instead of using ad-hoc ones can be exploited for this purpose. In this paper, we recall the basic elements and the evolution of the SM network architecture focusing on how it could further improve in the near future. We report the main technologies and protocols which can be exploited for the data exchange throughout the infrastructure and the pros and cons of each solution. Finally, we propose an innovative solution as a possible evolution of the SM system. This solution is based on a set of Internet of Things (IoT) communication technologies called Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) which could be employed to improve the performance of the currently used technologies and provide additional functionalities. We also propose the employment of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to periodically collect energy consumption data, with evident advantages especially if employed in rural and remote areas. We show some preliminary performance results which allow assessing the feasibility of the proposed approach.

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