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Jul 24, 2023

Moffitt develops app to help Spanish speakers quit smoking

TAMPA, Fla. — With the help of the National Cancer Institute and the Florida Department of Health, Moffitt Cancer Center developed a self-help written intervention guide for Spanish-speaking smokers.

TAMPA, Fla. — With the help of the National Cancer Institute and the Florida Department of Health, Moffitt Cancer Center developed a self-help written intervention guide for Spanish-speaking smokers.

It was a guide which was tested nationwide, and with those results, they’re now working to create a self-help app.

Moffitt Cancer Center’s director of Tobacco Research and Intervention Program, Dr. Vani Simmons, says that this app is specifically modified for Spanish speakers.

“The reason we think a mobile health app can be particularly helpful is because No. 1, it can reach more people. No. 2, it can be even more cost effective. And No. 3, it’s very well suited for a behavior like smoking.”

Simmons says this app will serve as a resource for smokers and a way to keep them up to date with any changes.

Three days a week, Zaida Gomez and her siblings are sitting around a table, playing dominoes.

“We actually always play dominoes. Start with the family and then with friends,” said Gomez.

It’s a game that helps them bond because it’s something they all love.

But it’s not the only thing they have in common. Gomez and her two siblings are all smokers, trying to break the habit.

Gomez says her father was a smoker, and she eventually started smoking in her mid-20s.

Now, she says she and her two siblings all have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

She says it’s something that scares her. Walks keep her active and help keep her mind off smoking.

“I like to come here, and spend some time, and breath healthier than inside the house,” she said.

It’s not the only method she’s using to help curb her smoking. Gomez and her siblings will be using the mobile health app created by the Moffitt Cancer Center. It’s an app that will guide them with information about smoking in their native language of Spanish.

“It’s not easy, but it’s going to be a huge one when you see the changes in your body,” she says.

Gomez hopes the app will be one more resource she can use to stop smoking for good.

“I want to stop smoking, I want to stop. I think it’s too much damage to my lungs. It’s time to quit.”

She looks forward to feeling healthier and being able to enjoy more moments with her family.

The mobile health app will provide patients with badges to help aid in their smoking journey, in a language they can understand. Moffitt Cancer Center is still in the stages of developing the app, so it will take a few months before it is up and running.