Perfect Fit: Empowering health through digital coaching for smoking cessation and physical activity
Smoking and insufficient physical activity are common, avoidable risk factors for conditions such as cardiovascular diseases and asthma. Many people aspire to lead a healthy life, but unfortunately, this is not always easy. The Perfect Fit project aims to assist people in achieving a healthier lifestyle. Within the project, researchers from various disciplines collaborate to develop a digital coach (a chatbot within a smartphone application) that can support individuals in quitting smoking and engaging in more physical activity.
The Perfect Fit program and the digital coach ‘Sam’
Previous research indicates that it can be advantageous to address smoking and exercise behaviors simultaneously. For example, quitting smoking can lead to improved fitness, making exercise easier. Conversely, exercise can aid in quitting smoking by reducing the desire to smoke. Therefore, the Perfect Fit digital coach serves a dual purpose by aiding individuals in quitting smoking and boosting their physical activity. In addition to providing support for multiple behavior changes, the Perfect Fit program is accessible at any time. The digital coach is not a real person but a chatbot on your phone available day and night, ensuring it can offer guidance during difficult times. Lastly, it is recognized that one approach does not fit all. Hence, the digital coach is tailored to meet users' needs. Users can specify coaching preferences and select smoking cessation and physical activity exercises that suit them. Additionally, the Perfect Fit program is designed to be as accessible as possible, using easy (Dutch B1 level) language and videos.
The research
From mid-September 2023, we will start a large-scale research study on the Perfect Fit program and the digital coach. With this study, we aim to determine whether the Perfect Fit program can indeed help individuals quit smoking and engage in more physical activity. Participants will gain access to the Perfect Fit program, which includes personal guidance from the digital coach ‘Sam’ via a smartphone app, lasting approximately 15 weeks. Participants will also be provided with a smartwatch to track their daily physical activity (number of steps) throughout the program. The digital coach assists participants in quitting smoking and increasing their physical activity. The Perfect Fit program will be tailored to each individual's preferences. It's expected that the program will require an average of about 20-25 minutes per week. Participants will also be asked to complete a questionnaire five times: before and immediately after the program, and then at 2, 6, and 12 months following its conclusion. This will help us to evaluate the Perfect Fit program.
Do you want to contribute to our research?
We are looking for participants to test the Perfect Fit intervention starting from mid-September 2023. Do you know individuals who would like support with quitting smoking and increasing physical activity? We would greatly appreciate it if you could refer them to our research. By doing so, you contribute to the development of an evidence-based eHealth intervention. You can refer interested individuals to: https://perfectfit-onderzoek.nl . If you have any questions or would like to receive recruitment materials to offer, please feel free to send an email to: perfectfit@lumc.nl .
