[Online social support as a mode of psychosocial intervention: A review of scientific literature, avenues for future research, and recommendations for practitioners]. / Le soutien social en ligne comme mode d'intervention psychosociale : revue de littérature, pistes de recherche et recommandations pour les intervenants.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this review is to present online social support interventions described in recent scientific literature, in order to (i) guide organizations wishing to develop such an intervention or to improve an existing program, and (ii) to identify future research directions and recommendations for practitioners. METHODS AND RESULTS: 59 peer-reviewed articles presenting online social support interventions (2006-2016) were analyzed by using a thematic grid focusing on theoretical perspectives on social support, the online platforms used and their functionalities, the process of intervention development and evaluation, the modalities of participation and the facilitation methods, the documented impacts of interventions, and finally future research directions and recommendations for practitioners. A narrative methodology was used to identify challenges in intervention development and implementation, in order to provide guidance to organizations who want to develop or improve their online social support services. CONCLUSIONS: Several research directions and recommendations for the development of online social support interventions are suggested, including the need to develop theoretical models of online social support and enrich traditional models of social support, the need to understand the benefits associated with different levels of participation, the importance of needs assessment in the development of interventions, and the contribution of qualitative methods to the evaluation of interventions.

I'll txt U if I have a problem: how the Société Canadienne du cancer in Quebec applied behavior-change theory, data mining and agile software development to help young adults quit smoking.

INTRODUCTION: For many organizations, limited budgets and phased funding restrict the development of digital health tools. This problem is often exacerbated by the ever-increasing sophistication of technology and costs related to programming and maintenance. Traditional development methods tend to be costly and inflexible and not client centered. The purpose of this study is to analyze the use of Agile software development and outcomes of a three-phase mHealth program designed to help young adult Quebecers quit smoking. METHODS: In Phase I, literature reviews, focus groups, interviews, and behavior change theory were used in the adaption and re-launch of an existing evidence-based mHealth platform. Based on analysis of user comments and utilization data from Phase I, the second phase expanded the service to allow participants to live text-chat with counselors. Phase II evaluation led to the third and current phase, in which algorithms were introduced to target pregnant smokers, substance users, students, full-time workers, those affected by mood disorders and chronic disease. RESULTS: Data collected throughout the three phases indicate that the incremental evolution of the intervention has led to increasing numbers of smokers being enrolled while making functional enhancements. In Phase I (240 days) 182 smokers registered with the service. 51% (n = 94) were male and 61.5% (n = 112) were between the ages of 18-24. In Phase II (300 days), 994 smokers registered with the service. 51% (n = 508) were male and 41% (n = 403) were between the ages of 18-24. At 174 days to date 873 smokers have registered in the third phase. 44% (n = 388) were male and 24% (n = 212) were between the ages of 18-24. CONCLUSIONS: Emerging technologies in behavioral science show potential, but do not have defined best practices for application development. In phased-based projects with limited funding, Agile appears to be a viable approach to building and expanding digital tools.