Latino Adults' Perspectives on Treating Tobacco Use Via Social Media.
BACKGROUND
Latinos are the largest minority group in the United States, and in California they outnumber non-Hispanic whites. Smoking cessation programs tailored for Latino culture, and this population's specific smoking patterns, are needed. Online social networks for smoking cessation have high potential for Latinos, but have not been tested to date.


OBJECTIVE
Building a research program on social media apps for cancer prevention in diverse populations, this qualitative study assessed acceptability of tobacco treatment that was distributed via social media for Latino smokers.


METHODS
We conducted three focus groups with Latino adults who were former and current smokers recruited from Santa Clara County, California in 2015 (N=32). We assessed participants' smoking histories, attempts to quit, social media exposure, and receptivity to a social media-based smoking cessation intervention. Audio transcripts were translated and coded for themes.


RESULTS
Participants reported factors driving their tobacco use and motivations to quit, and emphasized the importance of community and family in influencing their smoking initiation, cravings and triggers, attempts to quit, and abstinence. Participants valued the communal aspect of social media and suggested strategically tailoring groups based on key features (eg, age, gender, language preference). Participants reported preferring visual, educational, and motivational messages that were connected with existing services.


CONCLUSIONS
Participants generally voiced acceptability of a social media-delivered intervention to help them quit smoking, viewed the intervention as well-equipped for catering to the strong community orientation of Latinos, and suggested that the platform was able to address variation within the population through strategic group creation. As a group member reflected, "Podemos hacerlo juntos" (We can do it together).
Stanford Prevention Research Center, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States.
Beatriz
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9022-7716
B
Anguiano
Stanford Prevention Research Center, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States.
Cati
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5415-3665
C
Brown-Johnson
Palo Alto Medical Foundation Research Institute, Palo Alto, CA, United States.
Lisa G
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4053-7972
LG
Rosas
The Paul Merage School of Business, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States.
Cornelia
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9432-1475
C
Pechmann
Stanford Prevention Research Center, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States.
Judith J
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7925-326X
JJ
Prochaska
Hispanic; Latino; focus group; smoking cessation; social media; tobacco