Mobile-based Peer Mentoring for Smoking Cessation

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Tobacco Use; Smoking Cessation
• Interventions: Behavioral: Peer Mentoring; Behavioral: Control

• Registration Number: NCT03048786
• Lead Sponsor: University of California, San Francisco

Brief Summary

Despite the availability of a variety of effective treatments for smoking cessation, uptake of treatments is low. The increasing use of smartphone technology presents an exceptional opportunity to expand access to low-cost smoking cessation services. In this pilot study, the investigators will use a text-messaging platform to test peer mentoring for smoking cessation, delivered by former smokers. While peer mentoring is a common approach to health behavior change, it has rarely been used to maximum effect by smoking cessation programs. The text-messaging platform serves as the basis for a randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of peer mentoring for smoking cessation.

This pilot will include approximately 200 U.S. adult smokers who will be randomly assigned to a peer mentor or not. Participants in the control group will receive automated text messages used in SmokefreeTXT, a nationwide text-messaging service sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in which users receive one to five automated messages per day for up to eight weeks. Smokers in the intervention group will receive a modified version of the same automated messages from SmokefreeTXT, but with additional personalized messages from an assigned peer mentor. Mentors will provide responses to specific questions or comments a smoker may have after receiving the automated messages.

The intervention will last 8 weeks. The study includes primary outcomes to measure the acceptability, engagement, user experience, and early efficacy of the intervention.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2017-02-06
• Study First Submitted: 2017-02-06
• Study First Submitted QC: 2017-02-08
• Study First Posted: 2017-02-09
• Primary Completion: 2017-08-14
• Study Completion: 2017-08-14
• Status Verified: 2023-08
• Last Update Submitted: 2023-08-29
• Last Update Posted: 2023-09-01

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 200

Inclusion Criteria

• At least 18 years old
• Current resident of the U.S.
• Smoked 100 or more cigarettes in lifetime
• Current cigarette smoker
• Access to a device that can take pictures to be uploaded to a website
• Willing to complete a salivary cotinine test

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Exclusion Criteria

• Not a current user of nicotine replacement therapy
• Not a current user of electronic cigarettes

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Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Peer Mentoring Arm	Peer Mentoring	Participants will receive a modified version of the automated text messages sent to the control arm plus random assignment to a peer mentor.
Control Arm	Control	Participants will receive automated text messages drawn from the script used by SmokefreeTXT.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Saliva test for cotinine	3 months after quit day	The primary measure of early efficacy is the 7-day point prevalence of abstinence measured 3 months after the quit day, using a saliva cotinine test. The saliva test results will be recorded through a series of photographs and shared with the study team via email or online upload. Participants who self-report having smoked in the last 7 days, as part of the follow-up survey, will be considered to be continuing smokers.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Proportion who unsubscribe	Throughout the 6-8 week intervention	This measure of engagement is the proportion of participants who unsubscribe from the text-messaging intervention prior to the end of the intervention period.
Duration of engagement	Up to 8 weeks	The primary measure of participant engagement is the number of days from enrollment since the participant last replied to a message asking about the person's status (e.g., mood and cravings). The status messages are common to the scripts sent to participants in the control and peer mentoring arms.
Satisfaction with the program	3 months after quit day	The primary measure of acceptability of the intervention is the self-reported rating of participants to the statement, "I liked participating in the iQuit Project." Responses will be on a 5-point Likert scale from "completely disagree" to "completely agree."
Self-reported smoking status	3 months after quit day	Participants will self-report 7-day point prevalence of abstinence in the follow-up survey, measured 3 months after the quit day.
Accuracy of beliefs about personal content	Throughout the 6-8 week intervention	This is the difference between the percentage of messages reported to be from a mentor (as opposed to being automated) and the actual percentage.
Proportion of participants who correctly self-report their message type	3 months after quit day	The primary measure of user experience in the intervention is whether participants correctly identify the type of messages they received: automated or personal from a mentor. The measure has four categories: 1. assigned to automated messages and self-reports receiving automated messages only,; 2. assigned to automated messages and self-reports receiving at least some messages from a mentor,; 3. assigned to mentor messages and self-reports receiving at least some mentor messages, and; 4. assigned to mentor messages and self-reports receiving automated messages only.
Change in average cigarettes per day	3 months after quit day	This measures the difference in self-reported average number of cigarettes smoked per day from the baseline survey to the follow-up survey 3 months after quit day
Number of participant messages sent	Throughout the 6-8 week intervention	This measure of engagement is the number of resp days from enrollment since the participant last replied to a message asking about the person's status (e.g., mood and cravings). The status messages are common to the scripts sent to participants in the control and peer mentoring arms.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University of California, San Francisco; 🇺🇸 San Francisco, California, United States