Zwart logo met de tekst: Detour
Zwart logo met de tekst: Detour

Detour

A game to help young people quit smoking
Duration
1 October 2021 until 1 October 2026
Project member(s)
Dr M. Luijten (Maartje) S. Kochhar (Suhaavi) , Hanneke Scholten - Erasmus MC , Marloes Kleinjan - Trimbos Instituut
Project type
Research

Are you a young person and thinking about quitting smoking?

Then join our study in which we will compare two methods to help young people quit smoking! You can fill out a short questionnaire via this link: https://psychru.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_72IF7gDmX7Pz5X0. We will then contact you for more information. Once you have received more information you can decide if you want to participate in the study. If you have any questions you can contact us at jongeren.smr [at] ru.nl (jongeren[dot]smr[at]ru[dot]nl).

Are you a professional working with young people? Would you like to support young people to quit smoking?

In recent years we have been working on developing a mobile intervention to help young people quit smoking. There is currently no evidence-based smoking cessation intervention available in the Netherlands that is specifically designed for young people. We want to change that. We are going one step further. We not only want to develop an intervention for young people, but we also want it to be done by young people so that it really meets their needs. In addition to young people, researchers and game designers also collaborated on the mobile intervention. Detour is the result of this.

Detour is an app that includes game elements. Detour can be used as a just-in-time intervention when the desire for smoking is greatest. In addition, young people focus on their future self as a non-smoker and set goals for this that can be monitored. Detour is personally tailored to each youth so that it matches the individual's needs. Young people can use a social shell to support each other in quitting smoking.

Detour is an extension of an earlier mobile game (HitnRun) that we developed and tested through a randomized controlled trial (RCT) (see publications below). We then found tentative evidence that such a mobile intervention could help young people quit smoking. We started working with the areas of improvement.

Now we are about to start a large-scale study on the effectiveness of Detour. In doing so, we will compare Detour with another method that can be used for smoking cessation. That's how you can help young people quit smoking! Bring our research to the attention of the young people you work with. Contact us at jongeren.smr [at] ru.nl (jongeren[dot]smr[at]ru[dot]nl) if you are interested in this, and together we will see how we can best do this for your situation.

Are you from the media and want more information about Detour and our youth smoking cessation research?

Then contact us at jongeren.smr [at] ru.nl (jongeren[dot]smr[at]ru[dot]nl)!

https://gemhlab.com/projects/behavior-regulation/a-smartphone-game-to-help-youth-quit-smoking/

Results

1. Kochhar, S., Scholten, H., Maciejewski, D., Pingel, M. A., & Luijten, M. (2023). “Wanneer Rook Jij?” Pilot testing the ESM component of a smoking cessation game. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/7ZCPS
2. Scholten, H., Luijten, M., & Granic, I. (2019). A randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of a peer-based social mobile game intervention to reduce smoking in youth. Development and Psychopathology, 31(5), 1923–1943. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579419001378
3. Scholten, H., Granic, I., Chen, Z., Veling, H., & Luijten, M. (2019). Do smokers devaluate smoking cues after go/no-go training? Psychology & Health, 34(5), 609-625. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2018.1554184
4. Scholten, H., & Granic, I. (2019). Use of the principles of design thinking to address limitations of digital mental health interventions for youth. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 21(1), e11528. http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/11528

Funding

This project is funded by KWF Kankerbestrijding and Erasmus+.

Partners

Erasmus MC, Trimbos Instituut, NISPA, Verslavingskunde Nederland, Nederlandse Vereniging Kindergeneeskunde, MBO Raad, Pharos, VO-raad, Dominique Maciejewski Universiteit van Tilburg.

Contact information