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BackgroundSeasonal influenza vaccination (SIV) coverage among young children remains low worldwide. Mobile social networking apps such as WhatsApp Messenger are promising tools for health interventions. ObjectiveThis was a preliminary study to test the effectiveness and parental acceptability of a social networking intervention that sends weekly vaccination reminders and encourages exchange of SIV-related views and experiences among mothers via WhatsApp discussion groups for promoting childhood SIV. The second objective was to examine the effect of introducing time pressure on mothers’ decision making for childhood SIV for vaccination decision making. This was done using countdowns of the recommended vaccination timing. MethodsMothers of child(ren) aged 6 to 72 months were randomly allocated to control or to one of two social networking intervention groups receiving vaccination reminders with (SNI+TP) or without (SNI–TP) a time pressure component via WhatsApp discussion groups at a ratio of 5:2:2. All participants first completed a baseline assessment. Both the SNI–TP and SNI+TP groups subsequently received weekly vaccination reminders from October to December 2017 and participated in WhatsApp discussions about SIV moderated by a health professional. All participants completed a follow-up assessment from April to May 2018. ResultsA total of 84.9% (174/205), 71% (57/80), and 75% (60/80) who were allocated to the control, SNI–TP, and SNI+TP groups, respectively, completed the outcome assessment. The social networking intervention significantly promoted mothers’ self-efficacy for taking children for SIV (SNI–TP: odds ratio [OR] 2.69 [1.07-6.79]; SNI+TP: OR 2.50 [1.13-5.55]), but did not result in significantly improved children’s SIV uptake. Moreover, after adjusting for mothers’ working status, introducing additional time pressure reduced the overall SIV uptake in children of working mothers (OR 0.27 [0.10-0.77]) but significantly increased the SIV uptake among children of mothers without a full-time job (OR 6.53 [1.87-22.82]). Most participants’ WhatsApp posts were about sharing experience or views (226/434, 52.1%) of which 44.7% (101/226) were categorized as negative, such as their concerns over vaccine safety, side effects and effectiveness. Although participants shared predominantly negative experience or views about SIV at the beginning of the discussion, the moderator was able to encourage the discussion of more positive experience or views and more knowledge and information. Most intervention group participants indicated willingness to receive the same interventions (110/117, 94.0%) and recommend the interventions to other mothers (102/117, 87.2%) in future ConclusionsOnline information support can effectively promote mothers’ self-efficacy for taking children for SIV but alone it may not sufficient to address maternal concerns over SIV to achieve a positive vaccination decision. However, the active involvement of health professionals in online discussions can shape positive discussions about vaccination. Time pressure on decision making interacts with maternal work status, facilitating vaccination uptake among mothers who may have more free time, but having the opposite effect among busier working mothers. Trial RegistrationHong Kong University Clinical Trials Registry HKUCTR-2250; https://tinyurl.com/vejv276

INTRODUCTION Withdrawal symptoms lead to smoking relapse and reduce the intention to quit. The present pilot RCT examined the effect of simple and very brief handgrip and isometric exercises on reducing withdrawal symptoms, measured by the strength of tobacco craving, Questionnaire of Smoking Urges-Brief (QSU-B), Mood and Physical Symptoms Scale (MPSS), and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). METHODS In this 2-arm, open-labeled pilot RCT, 30 current smokers who had abstained from tobacco for at least 9 hours were randomly assigned (allocation ratio 1:1) to either the intervention group that watched a 5-minute video and did 5-minute handgrip and isometric exercises (pulling and pushing) or control group that watched 10-minute healthy-diet videos. Measurements were taken before, immediately after, and 10 minutes post-intervention. Outcomes were self-reported strength of tobacco craving, QSU-B, MPSS, and PANAS scores. The effect size for group-by-time interaction was assessed using Cohen's f² (small=0.02, medium=0.15, large=0.35). RESULTS Group-by-time interactions showed that the intervention group showed larger reductions than the control group in the strength of tobacco craving (Cohen's f²=0.54, 95% CI: 0.52-0.57), QSU-B (Cohen's f²=0.77; 95% CI: 0.74-0.80), and MPSS (Cohen's f²=0.51; 95% CI: 0.46-0.56) over the three measurement points. CONCLUSIONS This RCT showed that simple and brief handgrip and isometric exercises could immediately reduce withdrawal symptoms and up to 10 minutes. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: in https://clinicaltrials.gov/IDENTIFIER: NCT04059497 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION Smoke or aerosols from cigarettes, e-cigarettes (ECs), or heated tobacco products (HTPs) are harmful. Yet, there is little knowledge about the specific patterns of secondhand tobacco exposure by source within household settings and the socioeconomic status (SES) differences in adolescents. METHODS We used territory-representative student data from a cross-sectional school-based survey in 2020-2021 to calculate the weighted prevalence of secondhand exposure to cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and HTPs in the past seven days. Parental education and perceived family affluence were used as indicators of socioeconomic status. Generalized linear mixed models were used to analyze associations. RESULTS Among 22039 participants, 29.8% reported any secondhand tobacco exposure (SH-Any) at home, primarily from cigarettes (27.4%), followed by e-cigarettes (4.0%) and HTPs (0.9%). Tertiary parental education level was associated with lower SH-Any exposure (Adjusted odds ratio, AOR=0.49; 95% CI: 0.45-0.53, p<0.001), fewer exposure days (β= -0.685, p<0.001), lower exposure to cigarettes (SH-CC) (AOR=0.49; 95% CI: 0.45-0.54, p<0.001) and to e-cigarettes or HTPs (SH-EC/HTP) (AOR=0.57; 95% CI: 0.45-0.71, p<0.001). 'Poor' family affluence was associated with higher exposures [AOR(SH-Any) =1.14; 95% CI: 1.06-1.22, p=0.001; β(days)=0.160, p<0.001; AOR(SH-CC) =1.15; 95% CI: 1.07-1.24, p<0.001], except for SH-EC/HTP exposure, which was higher in students in an affluent family (AOR =1.66; 95% CI: 1.25-2.21, p<0.001). Significant SES differences in SH-EC/HTP exposure were found only in groups with low parental education level. Dose-response relationships were found between lower SH-Any and SH-CC and higher SES categories (p for trend<0.001). CONCLUSIONS Adolescents experienced a high prevalence of tobacco smoke exposure at home, primarily from cigarettes. Higher SES was associated with lower tobacco exposure, except for SH-EC/HTP, which was higher among adolescents from affluent families. Additionally, high parental education level was protective against exposure to SH-EC/HTP. Comprehensive control measures to reduce the use of these tobacco products are needed to protect adolescents of diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present trial examined the effectiveness of brief interventions for smokers who joined the Hong Kong Quit to Win Contest to quit smoking. A block randomized controlled trial allocated 1003 adult daily smokers to three groups: (i) The TEL group (n = 338) received a 5-min nurse-led telephone counselling; (ii) The SMS group (n = 335) received eight text messages through mobile phone and (iii) The CONTROL group (n = 330) did not receive the above interventions. Participants with biochemically verified abstinence at 6-month follow-up could receive cash incentive. The primary outcome was the self-reported 7-day point prevalence (PP) of tobacco abstinence at 6-month follow-up. The abstinence rate in the TEL, SMS and CONTROL group was 22.2, 20.6 and 20.3%, respectively (P for TEL versus CONTROL = 0.32; P for SMS versus CONTROL = 0.40). When abstinence at 2-, 6- and 12-month follow-up was modelled simultaneously, the TEL group had a higher abstinence than the CONTROL group (Adjusted OR = 1.38, 95% CI = 1.01--1.88, P = 0.04). In the Quit to Win Contest, the brief telephone counselling might have increased abstinence, but the text messages had no significant effect. Further studies on intensive intervention and interactive messaging services are warranted.

INTRODUCTION Tobacco use is associated with an increased risk of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection, severe COVID-19 outcomes requiring intensive care, and mortality. We investigated the perceived risk of and changes in cigarette, e-cigarette (EC) and heated tobacco product (HTP) use in relation to COVID-19 in Hong Kong adolescent tobacco users. METHODS We conducted semi-structured telephone interviews from January to April 2021 and in February 2022 on 40 adolescents (65% boys, Secondary school grades 2-6) who participated in our previous smoking surveys and were using cigarettes, ECs or HTPs before the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in January 2020. RESULTS Adolescents generally perceived higher risks of contracting and having more severe COVID-19 from using cigarettes than ECs/HTPs, but they had limited knowledge of COVID-19 risks from EC/HTP use, particularly. Both increased and reduced consumption were found in tobacco, with EC use being the less affected product. Changes also included switching to ECs for convenience and lower cost and shifting from smoking cigarettes outside to mainly at home or in hidden areas. COVID-related policies, fear of infection, non-COVID-related health concerns, less social opportunities and pocket money, and limited access to tobacco products were barriers to tobacco use. In contrast, greater freedom at home versus school and negative emotions due to social distancing were facilitators. Family/peer influence had mixed impacts. CONCLUSIONS Adolescent tobacco users perceived lower COVID risks associated with HTPs and ECs than cigarettes, and various changes in tobacco use were found amid the pandemic in Hong Kong. COVID-19 and related social changes may both facilitate or deter adolescent tobacco use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to explore the factor structure of the Work-Family Balance Scale (WFBS) and examine its reliability and validity in use in the urban Chinese population. The scale was validated using a sample of 605 urban Chinese residents from 7 cities. Exploratory factor analysis identified two factors: work-family conflict and work-family enrichment. The WFBS showed adequate reliability and concurrent validity. The WFBS is a reliable and valid instrument to measure work-family balance for Chinese working parents. However, further examination of the scale is needed. (Contains 4 tables.)

Introduction The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic had reduced access to traditional, in-person smoking cessation treatment. We examined the feasibility, acceptability, and potential effectiveness of mobile chat messaging in preventing smoking relapse in smokers who have recently quit smoking. Methods In this assessor-blinded, pilot randomized controlled trial in five cessation clinics, we recruited adult daily smokers who had been receiving cessation treatments and abstained for 3 to 30 days. The intervention group received real-time, personalized chat messaging on relapse prevention via WhatsApp for 3 months. The control group received generic text messaging on the harms of smoking and benefits of quitting for 3 months. The primary outcome was carbon monoxide–validated abstinence at 6 months post-treatment initiation. The trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04409496). Results From June to July 2020, 108 of 130 (83%) eligible subjects were randomized to the intervention (N = 54) or control (N = 54) groups. The retention rate was 93% at 3 months (end of treatment) and 85% at 6 months. In the intervention group, 80% of participants responded to the chat messages at least once; 43% continuously engaged with the intervention over the 3-month intervention period. By intention-to-treat, validated abstinence at 6 months was higher in the intervention than control group (31% vs. 22%), with a relative risk of 1.72 (95% CI = 0.91% to 3.23%; p =.09) after adjusting for pre-quit nicotine dependence, duration of abstinence, and cessation treatment at baseline. Conclusions This pilot trial showed the feasibility and acceptability of mobile chat messaging for relapse prevention with preliminary evidence on its effectiveness in increasing validated abstinence. Implications Smoking relapse is the most likely outcome of smoking cessation attempts and an undertreated problem. This pilot trial showed the feasibility and acceptability of personalized chat messaging via WhatsApp for relapse prevention in recent abstainers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The higher carbon monoxide–validated abstinence rate in participants who received chat messaging than controls showed preliminary evidence on the effectiveness of the intervention. Fully powered trials are warranted to test the intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]