Effect of tailoring in an internet-based intervention for smoking cessation: randomized controlled trial.

Studies suggest that tailored materials are superior to nontailored materials in supporting health behavioral change. several trials on tailored internet-based interventions for smoking cessation have shown good effects. there have,however,been few attempts to isolate the effect of the tailoring component of an internet-based intervention for smoking cessation and to compare it with the effectiveness of the other components. the study aim was to isolate the effect of tailored emails in an internet-based intervention for smoking cessation by comparing two versions of the intervention,with and without tailored content. we conducted a two-arm,randomized controlled trial of the open and free norwegian 12-month follow-up,fully automated internet-based intervention for smoking cessation,slutta.no. we collected information online on demographics,smoking,self-efficacy,use of the website,and participant evaluation at enrollment and subsequently at 1,3,and 12 months. altogether,2298 self-selected participants aged 16 years or older registered at the website between august 15,2006 and december 7,2007 and were randomly assigned to either a multicomponent,nontailored internet-based intervention for smoking cessation (control) or a version of the same internet-based intervention with tailored content delivered on the website and via email. of the randomly assigned participants,116 (of 419,response rate = 27.7%) in the intervention group and 128 (of 428,response rate = 29.9%) in the control group had participated over the 12 months and responded at the end of follow-up. the 7-day intention-to-treat abstinence rate at 1 month was 15.2% (149/982) among those receiving the tailored intervention,compared with 9.4% (94/999) among those who received the nontailored intervention (p < .001). the corresponding figures at 3 months were 13.5% (122/902) and 9.4% (84/896,p =.006) and at 12 months were 11.2% (47/419) and 11.7% (50/428,p = .91). likewise,the intervention group had higher self-efficacy and perceived tailoring at 1 and 3 months. self-efficacy was found to partially mediate the effect of the intervention. tailoring an internet-based intervention for smoking cessation seems to increase the success rates in the short term,but not in the long term.