The interventions
QuitCoach is a personalized, automated tailored cessation program based on cognitive–behavioural principles that generates two- to four-page letters of advice with suggestions about strategy, both actions and ways of thinking, and encouragement to persist. The advice is based on answers to an assessment questionnaire and is complemented by some untailored additional resources [see [12,14]; Appendix S1 (online supporting information, please see details at the end of the paper) or http://www.quitcoach.org.au]. The QuitCoach is designed to be used multiple times, as the questions asked and advice given changes with progress in the quit attempt. The onQ program is based on the same cognitive–behavioural model. It provides a stream of SMS messages to the person that mix snippets of advice on strategy and things to do with motivational messages. The user can interact with it by reporting changes (e.g. a quit attempt) so that appropriate stage-specific messages are sent, and once quit can also call up messages in crisis situations. The frequency of messages changes,with peaks on entry, around any actual quit attempt,and around any reported relapse crisis (see Appendix S2, online supporting information, please see details at the end of the paper). In the integrated condition both QuitCoach and onQ were offered as a package, but in reality users could subsequently use either or both parts. The two programs have complementary advice, with the brief snippets of advice in the text messages often summarizing more detailed material in the tailored advice and supplementary
materials. When integrated with QuitCoach, a few onQ messages were based on responses to the QuitCoach assessment. The choice condition was an explicit offer of either or
both interventions, with the person encouraged to make an upfront choice. However, they could subsequently change their minds, and take up whatever aspects they wanted.