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Background Adhering to varenicline has been shown to signifcantly improve the chances of successfully quitting smoking, with studies indicating a twofold increase in 6-month quit rates. However, despite its potential benefts, many individuals struggle with maintaining good adherence to varenicline; thus there is a need to develop scalable strategies to help people adhere. As a frst step to inform the development of an intervention to improve adherence to varenicline, we conducted a rapid literature review to identify: 1) modifable barriers and facilitators to varenicline adherence, and 2) behaviour change techniques associated with increased adherence to varenicline. Methods We searched MEDLINE, Embase, APA PsycINFO, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for relevant studies published between 2006 and 2022. Search terms included “varenicline,” “smoking cessation,” and "adherence," and their respective subject headings and synonyms. We screened and included studies reporting modifable determinants of adherence to varenicline and then assessed quality, extracted modifable determinants and mapped them to the Theoretical Domains Framework version 2 and the Behaviour Change Technique Taxonomy version 1. Results A total of 1,221 titles were identifed through the database searches; 61 met the eligibility criteria. Most of the studies were randomized controlled trials and predominantly focused on barriers to varenicline. Only nine studies explicitly mentioned behaviour change techniques used to help varenicline adherence. Eight domains were identifed as barriers to varenicline adherence (behavioural regulation, memory, goals, intentions, beliefs about capabilities, beliefs about consequences, optimism/pessimism, and environmental context) and fve as facilitators (knowledge, behavioural regulation, beliefs about capabilities, social infuences, and environmental context). Conclusions This study identifes barriers and facilitators that should be addressed when developing a complex adherence intervention tailored to patients’ needs based on modifable determinants of medication adherence, some of which are under- used by existing adherence interventions. The fndings from this review will inform the design of a theory-based healthbot planned to improve varenicline adherence in people undergoing smoking cessation treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tobacco smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death and disease among women. Quitting smoking offers numerous health benefits; however, women tend to have less success than men when attempting to quit. This discrepancy is partly due to sex- and gender-related factors, including the lower effectiveness of smoking cessation medication and the presence of unique motives for smoking and barriers to quitting among women. Despite the gendered nature of smoking, most smoking cessation apps are gender-neutral and fail to address women's specific needs. Objective: This study aims to test the acceptability and feasibility of a smartphone app that delivers gender-informed content to support women in quitting smoking. Methods: We co-developed a smoking cessation app specifically tailored for women, named My Change Plan-Women (MCP-W). This app builds upon our previous gender-neutral app, MCP, by retaining its content grounded in behavioral change techniques aimed at supporting tobacco reduction and cessation. This includes goal setting for quitting, identifying triggers to smoking, creating coping strategies, tracking cigarettes and cravings, and assessing financial savings from quitting smoking. The MCP-W app contains additional gender-informed content that acknowledges barriers to quitting, such as coping with stress, having smokers in one's social circle, and managing unpleasant emotions. This content is delivered through testimonials and animated videos. This study is a prospective, single-group, mixed methods investigation in which 30 women smokers will trial the app for a period of 28 days. Once participants provide informed consent, they will complete a baseline survey and download the app on their smartphones. After 28 days, participants will complete follow-up surveys. Acceptability will be assessed using the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability, which evaluates whether participants perceive the app as helpful in changing their smoking. The app will be deemed acceptable if the majority of participants rate it as such, and feasible if the majority of the participants use it for at least 7 days. Furthermore, after the 28-day trial period, participants will complete a semistructured interview regarding their experience with the app and suggestions for improvement. Results: Development of the MCP-W app was completed in September 2023. Participant recruitment for testing of the app commenced in February 2024 and was completed in July 2024. We will analyze the data upon completion of data collection from all 30 participants. We expect to share the results of this acceptability trial in the middle of 2025. Conclusions: Offering smoking cessation support tailored specifically to address the unique needs of women through a smartphone app represents a novel approach. This study will test whether women who smoke perceive this approach to be acceptable and feasible in their journey toward smoking cessation. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/60677 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The continuing proliferation of handheld computing devices offers a new platform for mobile computing applications. Yet questions about this vision persist with regard to the specific applications, interfaces, design features, and infrastructure that will best support the development and delivery of application services. The authors have been investigating these questions through the ActiveCampus Project. Their project explores technologies that can enrich the learning community in the midst of today's ongoing social changes. For example, virtual spaces have proved effective in sustaining communities among geographically dispersed members, while context-aware applications let users leave electronic notes in physical community spaces.

Digital desktop fabrication technologies such as 3D printing are currently being lauded in the popular press as a potentially socially transformative technology. We somewhat agree, arguing that 3D printing holds great socioeconomic implications, but also that more sustained attention should be paid to the ways in which 3D printing is entering into our creative environments. Our focus in this article is on the use of rapid prototyping by creatives such as architects, designers, and DIY advocates, since it is within these contexts where the popular themes of 3D printing are currently most concrete. To this end, in section one we provide some background for desktop digital fabrication, contextualizing 3D printing within industrial processes and Maker subcultures. In section two, we summarize our environmental scan of relevant popular and academic literature, using this to identify key trends in this area. We supplement this discussion in section three using our analysis of a 'critical making' session that took participants through a process of designing and printing simple objects as well as follow-up interviews with these participants. In the concluding section, we target four areas in need of future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]