| Summary: | Introduction
Although the use of mobile health (mHealth) to promote tobacco
control and smoking cessation interventions has been available in developed
countries, their use in low- and middle-income countries (i.e. in China) is lacking.
This study examined the acceptance of text messaging and/or WeChat based
tobacco control intervention among parents who smoke, in rural China.
Methods
Using a structured questionnaire, we surveyed smoker households (n=668)
of children aged ≤5 years in two rural regions of southern China. Descriptive
analyses were used to characterize respondents; multivariate regression analysis
was used to test the associations between participants’ sociodemographic and
other characteristics, and their acceptability of text messaging and/or WeChat
intervention for tobacco control.
Results
After adjusting for other variables (i.e. region, ethnicity, age, education level,
occupation, attitudes towards smoking, perception of cigarettes addictiveness, and
quitting smoking), the overall knowledge about smoking and secondhand smoke
(SHS) exposure significantly predicted a higher acceptance to text messaging/
WeChat intervention (OR=0.567; 95% CI: 0.457–0.704). Participants who thought
smoking made people feel relaxed were less likely to accept text messaging/
WeChat intervention than those who did not think so (OR=1.403; 95% CI: 1.080–
1.822).
Conclusions
Our findings suggest that households in rural China that were more
knowledgeable about the hazards of smoking and SHS exposure, and had
negative feelings about the benefits of smoking, were more likely to accept
text messaging/WeChat for tobacco control intervention. Understanding rural
smokers’ preferences to receive intervention and related characteristics can help
with the design of targeted tobacco control intervention programs in rural China.
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