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BackgroundIndividuals living in rural communities experience substantial geographic and infrastructure barriers to attaining health equity in accessing tobacco use cessation treatment. Social media and other digital platforms offer promising avenues to improve access and overcome engagement challenges in tobacco cessation efforts. Research has also shown a positive correlation between faith-based involvement and a lower likelihood of smoking, which can be used to engage rural communities in these interventions. ObjectiveThis study aimed to develop and beta test a social intervention prototype using a Facebook (Meta Platforms, Inc) group specifically designed for rural smokers seeking evidence-based smoking cessation resources. MethodsWe designed a culturally aligned and faith-aligned Facebook group intervention, FaithCore, tailored to engage rural people who smoke in smoking cessation resources. Both intervention content and engagement strategies were guided by community-based participatory research principles. Given the intervention’s focus on end users, that is, rural people who smoked, we conducted a beta test to assess any technical or usability issues of this intervention before any future trials for large-scale implementation. ResultsNo critical beta test technical and usability issues were noted. Besides, the FaithCore intervention was helpful, easy to understand, and achieved its intended goals. Notably, 90% (9/10) of the participants reported that they tried quitting smoking, while 90% (9/10) reported using or seeking cessation resources discussed within the group. ConclusionsThis study shows that social media platform with culturally aligned and faith-aligned content and engagement strategies delivered by trained moderators are promising for smoking cessation interventions in rural communities. Our future step is to conduct a large pilot trial to evaluate the intervention’s effectiveness on smoking cessation outcomes.

BackgroundTobacco smoking remains the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in the United States, with significant rural-urban disparities. Adults who live in rural areas of the United States have among the highest tobacco smoking rates in the nation and experience a higher prevalence of smoking-related deaths and deaths due to chronic diseases for which smoking is a causal risk factor. Barriers to accessing tobacco use cessation treatments are a major contributing factor to these disparities. Adults living in rural areas experience difficulty accessing tobacco cessation services due to geographical challenges, lack of insurance coverage, and lack of health care providers who treat tobacco use disorders. The use of digital technology could be a practical answer to these barriers. ObjectiveThis report describes a protocol for a study whose main objectives are to develop and beta test an innovative intervention that uses a private, moderated Facebook group platform to deliver peer support and faith-based cessation messaging to enhance the reach and uptake of existing evidence-based smoking cessation treatment (EBCT) resources (eg, state quitline coaching programs) for rural adults who smoke. MethodsWe will use the Integrated Theory of Health Behavior Change, surface or deep structure frameworks to guide intervention development, and the community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach to identify and engage with community stakeholders. The initial content library of moderator postings (videos and text or image postings) will be developed using existing EBCT material from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Tips from Former Smokers Campaign. The content library will feature topics related to quitting smoking, such as coping with cravings and withdrawal and using EBCTs with faith-based message integration (eg, Bible quotes). A community advisory board and a community engagement studio will provide feedback to refine the content library. We will also conduct a beta test of the intervention with 15 rural adults who smoke to assess the recruitment feasibility and preliminary intervention uptake such as engagement, ease of use, usefulness, and satisfaction to further refine the intervention based on participant feedback. ResultsThe result of this study will create an intervention prototype that will be used for a future randomized controlled trial. ConclusionsOur CBPR project will create a prototype of a Facebook-delivered faith-based messaging and peer support intervention that may assist rural adults who smoke to use EBCT. This study is crucial in establishing a self-sufficient smoking cessation program for the rural community. The project is unique in using a moderated social media platform providing peer support and culturally relevant faith-based content to encourage adult people who smoke to seek treatment and quit smoking. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)PRR1-10.2196/52398