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Marketplace Details

Medication Adherence Chatbot

A chatbot to support people who want to quit smoking using varenicline (the generic equivalent to Champix). The aim of this chatbot is to help people take their medication as prescribed by their healthcare provider.

What does the Chatbot do??

The chatbot is combined with an online portal for participants to access. The portal allows participants to:

 

Participants also receive SMS messages to remind them to take their medication and prompt them to log into the chatbot for adherence checks.

The chatbot will communicate with participants for 84 days. Participants will be able to use the chatbot to schedule when they will start their medication and start their 84 days of communication with the chatbot. 

 

Smoking and Smoking Cessation

Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of premature death and disease in Canada. It can lead to serious chronic health issues, such as cancer, respiratory ailments and heart disease. 

Quitting smoking offers numerous immediate and long-term benefits. Within days, lung function improves, making breathing easier. Over time, the risk of serious health conditions such as heart disease, stroke, and various cancers significantly decreases. 

Why the Chatbot?

Varenicline is one of the most effective approved smoking cessation medications. However, adherence to varenicline is low and lower adherence is associated with lower smoking abstinence. Previous clinical trials have shown over 30% of people using varenicline are nonadherent by the second week of treatment.  

Interventions which provide tailored behavioural supports have been shown to improve adherence to smoking cessation medications.  A chatbot can interact with participants in a number of different ways and can tailor these interactions to the needs of each individual by tracking their individual progress and medication regimen, sending them reminders and answering their question about the medication use and any side effects they may experience. 

 

The Team

Dr. Nadia Minian is a a scientist with the Institute for Mental Health Policy Research and INTREPID Lab (formerly Nicotine Dependence Service at CAMH.  Her research focuses on increasing the accessibility, efficiency, and effectiveness of interventions for behaviour change interventions particularly on smoking cessation in primary care settings. She has conducted several pragmatic trials to test different implementation approaches. 

Dr. Kamna Mehra is Research Coordinator at INTREPID Lab, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) with ample experience with qualitative research, coordinating multiple projects and working with service users and service providers. 

Co-Investigators: Drs. Peter Selby, Jonathan Rose, Matt Ratto, Laurie Zawertailo, Scott Veldhuizen.

Funders:

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