Review of Additional Information Sections
1 Information Described as Clear & Easy to Follow
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Health Canada Smaking Cessation Study (December 2004)
A few were looking for specifie information and chose the sections they read because they thought the information they were seeking might be in those sections. For example, one participant said she read the Withdrawal section because she was looking for information on how nicotine affects the nervous system.
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Positive Reaction to Most Sections
Nearly all of the participants reacted in a generally positive way to the additional information sections, once again describing them as good or, in sorne instances, very good. Participants tended to be more neutral or negative about the section Dealing with peaple wha dan 't suppart yau. Those who read this section tended to react by saying that
this type of information was not particularly relevant or applicable to them, or that the situation itself was not very realistic (i.e. the participants themselves having only supportive people around them with respect to this issue).
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Information Described as Clear & Easy to FollowParticipants were virtually unanimous that the information in these sections was clear and easy to understand. As was the case with Creating a quit plan, participants offered this assessment routinely and without hesitation. As mentioned earlier, participants were told to note anything that is unclear or about which they would like to ask a question or make a comment during the phone interview. No one drew attention to any specifie passages in these sections.
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Plans & Strategies - Most Useful Type of Information
Regardless of the sections that participants read, they were most likely to identify concrete plans and strategies as the type of information that was most useful or relevant to them. This was evident in the titles of the subsections they identified specifically (i.e.
by name) or pointed to as most useful and relevant to them. They included:
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• Develap strategies ta cantral triggers.
• Ways ta deal with temptation.
• Seeking help.
• Ways ta regain cantral ifyau slip.
• Plan ta prevent relapse.
• Priorities far the first manth.
• How ta askfar help that warks.
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However, while participants tended to identify information of this type as being most useful or relevant to them, a number qualified the actual usefulness of the information in the various sections. Reasons inc1uded:1 1 1
• Lack
of
new strategies: While sorne participants identified specifie strategies they had not thought of or did not know about, many said that they were already familiar with the strategies or variations of them. Sorne added, however, that there were probably people who were not familiar with them and for whom they would be very useful.Phoenix Strategie Perspectives Inc. 25
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Health Canada Smoking Cessation Study (December 2004)
• Strategies/plans too general: Sorne participants said that while the information in various sections was presented in such a way as to be useful (i.e. lists ofhints and suggestions), many of the suggestions were simply too general to be of real use (e.g. 'Learn to ask for help. Practice asking for help. Expect to get help' from Strategies for dealing with people who don't support you).
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• Repetition: Sorne again identified repetition as limiting the usefulness of the information because they kept coming upon the same information. For example, it was noted that the same information on seeking help was available in sections C and G, and the same information on dealing with temptation was available in sections C and D.
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Most Information not New, Limits its Usefulness
As mentioned above, when commenting on the usefulness of the information they read, sorne participants indicated that the information in the sections they chose to read was not new to them. When asked explicitly how much of the information in the additional sections they read was new information, most participants said that it tended to be information that was already familiar to them, at least to a certain extent. Sorne said that while there were very specifie things that were new to them (e.g. breathing exercises for dealing with withdrawal), they tended to be aware of most of the information they read.
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The type of information most likely to be described as new was information in the section Dealing with people who don 't support you. That said, sorne of the participants who read this section said that while the information was new to them, it was not very useful.
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A number of participants added that while not necessarily new, the information in the sections they read did help confirm or validate their experiences and served as a useful reminder. Recall that participants said the same thing about Creating a quit plan.
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Suggestions for Improvement
Although most participants tended to think that the information in the sections they read was comprehensive, sorne offered suggestions for improvements. Since participants were usually commenting on at least two sections, their suggestions tended to be general in nature (i.e. applicable to various sections). Suggestions included:
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• Make information more interactive and personal: Sorne participants suggested making the information more pertinent by individualizing it as much as possible (i.e. making it as applicable and pertinent to a specifie individual as possible).
One way to do this would be to add more interactive features to the information sections. It was suggested, for ex ample, that the section dealing with withdrawal not only list the symptoms but actually allow people to check off symptoms they are experiencing and receive specifie suggestions on how to deal with them.
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Phoenix Strategie Perspectives Inc. 261
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Health Canada Smoking Cessation Study (December 2004)
• Pro vide more examples of techniques/strategies: This related to the perception that sorne suggested techniques and strategies were too general or abstract to be useful. It was suggested that more specifie examples be provided.
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• Pro vide previews/descriptions of the sections: A few participants said it would be useful if there were sorne kind of preview or description of the information contained in various sections. This would rnake it easier for individuals to find information that was pertinent or relevant to thern.
• Make sections easier to navigate: Related to this, it was suggested that navigating through sorne sections was difficult due to the nurnber of subsections and links in thern. In particular, it was suggested that there be permanent icons on each page allowing you to quickly retum to a section.