Project MARS: Mobile-Assistance for Regulating Smoking (MARS)

August 6, 2026 updated by: University of Utah

Novel Use of mHealth Data to Identify States of Vulnerability and Receptivity to JITAIs

This study aims to investigate approaches to capitalize on states of vulnerability and receptivity to deliver real-time self-regulation prompts among smokers.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Investigate approaches to capitalize on states of vulnerability and receptivity to deliver real-time self-regulation prompts. Investigate whether, what type, and under what conditions (e.g., current state of vulnerability and/or receptivity) a prompt to engage the individual in self-regulatory activities via mobile app increases engagement, hence reduces vulnerability.

The proposed research will help build a comprehensive conceptual, technical, and empirical foundation necessary to develop effective Just-in-Time-Adaptive-Interventions (JITAIs) based on dynamic models of vulnerability and receptivity. In the micro-randomized trial (MRT), Ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) assessed proximal engagement with self-regulatory strategies, substance use, and other contextual factors after each micro-randomization.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
114

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Utah
      • Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, 84102
        • University of Utah

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 18 years of age or older
  • Current smoker with an average of at least 3 cigarettes/day
  • Motivated to quit within the next 30 days
  • Valid home address in Utah, Nevada, and Arizona
  • Functioning telephone number and access to reliable wifi
  • Can speak, read, and write in English
  • At least marginal health literacy (as determined by 45 or greater on REALM literacy test)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Contraindication for nicotine patch or gum
  • Current use of tobacco cessation medications or other aids (i.e. buproprion)
  • Pregnancy or lactation (as self-reported)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Current Smoker
Within-participant randomization occurred up to 6 times daily to (a) no intervention prompt (b) a prompt recommending a brief (low effort) self-regulatory strategy, or (c) a prompt recommending a more effortful self-regulatory strategy.
Behavioral: Messages recommending low effort strategies (participants experiencing negative affect & cigarettes are available)
Participants receive messages tailored for situations when they experiencing negative affect & cigarettes are available.
Behavioral: Messages recommending low effort strategies (participants not experiencing negative affect & cigarettes are available)
Participants receive messages tailored for situations when they are not experiencing negative affect & cigarettes are available.
Behavioral: Messages recommending low effort strategies (participants experiencing negative affect & cigarettes are not available)
Participants receive messages tailored for situations when they are experiencing negative affect & cigarettes are not available.
Behavioral: Messages recommending low effort strategies (participants not experiencing negative affect & cigarettes are not available)
Generic messages for situations when participants are neither experiencing negative affect nor cigarettes are available.
Behavioral: Messages recommending low effort strategies (when participants did not complete the 2-question survey)
Generic messages for situations when participants are neither experiencing negative affect nor cigarettes are available.
Behavioral: More effortful activity: Moodsurf
Smart phone app that teaches participants a mindfulness-based technique in which participant "surf" the mood.
Behavioral: More effortful activity: Meditate
Smart phone app that teaches participants a mindfulness-based meditation designed for smoking cessation.
Behavioral: More effortful activity: Joy
Smart phone app that teaches participants to practice breathing exercise.
Behavioral: More effortful activity: Imagine
Smart phone app that teaches participants to use their imagination to explore and manage their thoughts and feelings.
Behavioral: More effortful activity: Notice
Smart phone app that teaches participants to accept their thoughts and feelings.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Proportion of Randomized Decision Points in Which Participant Reported Proximal Engagement by Randomized Assignment
Time Frame: 1 hour following micro-randomization

Within-person randomization occurred (2:1:1) up to 6 times daily for 10 days to (a) no intervention prompt (b) prompt to engage with a low effort strategy or (c) prompt to engage with a more effortful strategy.

Proximal Engagement (PE) with strategies is a binary indicator of engagement, coded as 1 (engaged) if the participant answered "Yes" to at least one of the three items below and as 0 (not engaged) if they answered "No" to all three items below.

The three EMA items used to operationalize PE were:

  1. "Think about the most recent tip or activity recommended by MARS. Did you use it in the last hour?" (Yes or No);
  2. "In the last hour, did you use any other tip or activity recommended by MARS?" (Yes or No);
  3. "In the last hour, did you use any other tip or activity not included in MARS?" (Yes or No).

Proportions were first determined for each participant, then averaged across participants. There were up to 60 decision points per participant.
1 hour following micro-randomization
Proportion of Randomized Decision Points in Which the Participant Reported Proximal Engagement by Randomized Assignment.
Time Frame: 1 hour following micro-randomization

Within-person randomization occurred (2:1:1) up to 6 times daily for 10 days to (a) no intervention prompt (b) prompt to engage with a low effort strategy or (c) prompt to engage with a more effortful strategy.

Proximal Engagement (PE) with strategies is a binary indicator of engagement, coded as 1 (engaged) if the participant answered "Yes" to at least one of the three items below and as 0 (not engaged) if they answered "No" to all three items below.

The three EMA items used to operationalize PE were:

  1. "Think about the most recent tip or activity recommended by MARS. Did you use it in the last hour?" (Yes or No);
  2. "In the last hour, did you use any other tip or activity recommended by MARS?" (Yes or No);
  3. "In the last hour, did you use any other tip or activity not included in MARS?" (Yes or No).

Proportions were first determined for each participant, then averaged across participants. There were up to 60 decision points per participant.
1 hour following micro-randomization

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Proximal Cigarette Use
Time Frame: approximately 1 hour following the decision point

Proximal Cigarette Use (PCU) was assessed with the EMA item, "Since the last assessment, did you use any of the following (check all that apply): Cigarettes; Vape pen, JUUL, or e-cigarettes; Cigars, cigarillos, or little cigars; Smokeless tobacco/snus/dissolvable tobacco; Marijuana/Cannabis; Alcohol; None." A binary indicator of Proximal Cigarette Use was created, coded as 1 if the response included "Cigarettes" and 0 otherwise.

This outcome measure reports the proportion that reported PCU at 1 hour following micro-randomization.

The intent of this Outcome Measures is to report overall PCU use according to participant's self-reported engagement with self-regulatory strategies.
approximately 1 hour following the decision point
Proximal Nicotine-Containing Non-Cessation Product (NCNCP) Use
Time Frame: approximately 1 hour following the decision point

Proximal Nicotine-Containing Non-Cessation Product Use (NCNCP) was assessed with the EMA item, "Since the last assessment, did you use any of the following (check all that apply): Cigarettes; Vape pen, JUUL, or e-cigarettes; Cigars, cigarillos, or little cigars; Smokeless tobacco/snus/dissolvable tobacco; Marijuana/Cannabis; Alcohol; None." A binary indicator of Proximal NCNCP Use was created, coded as 1 if the response included "Cigarettes", "Vape pen, JUUL, or e-cigarette," "Cigars, cigarillos, or little cigars," or "Smokeless tobacco/snus/dissolvable tobacco," and 0 otherwise.

This outcome measure will report the proportion that reported NCNCP Use at 1 hour following micro-randomization.
approximately 1 hour following the decision point
Proximal Tobacco Product Use (PTPU) Use
Time Frame: approximately 1 hour following the decision point

Proximal Nicotine-Containing Non-Cessation Product Use (PTPU) was assessed with the EMA item, "Since the last assessment, did you use any of the following (check all that apply): Cigarettes; Vape pen, JUUL, or e-cigarettes; Cigars, cigarillos, or little cigars; Smokeless tobacco/snus/dissolvable tobacco; Marijuana/Cannabis; Alcohol; None." A binary indicator of PTPU was created, coded as 1 if the response included "Cigarettes", "Cigars, cigarillos, or little cigars," or "Smokeless tobacco/snus/dissolvable tobacco," and 0 otherwise.

This outcome measure will report the proportion that reported PTPU at 1 hour following micro-randomization.
approximately 1 hour following the decision point

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Utah

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
University of Michigan

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: David Wetter, PhD, University of Utah
  • Principal Investigator: Inbal Nahum-Shani, PhD, University of Michigan

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
August 27, 2020

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
October 20, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
October 20, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
January 9, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 5, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
May 6, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
August 31, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 6, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 112287
  • U01CA229437-01 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

Data will be shared with investigators working under an institution with a Federal Wide Assurance (FWA). Before sharing data, data will be stripped of all personal identifiers and all identifying codes. Data will be deemed either sensitive or low-risk, based on our characterization of the possibility of deductive disclosure. Request for sensitive data will be vetted through an assessment of both the requestor's credentials and potential risks. Note that our risk analysis will be based on a joint consideration of the total risk based on all data products requested.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

The PIs and the research team will work to make the data available in a reasonable amount of time after its collection and following the acceptance for publication of the main findings. Rules for maintaining and distributing data of the University of Utah, the University of Michigan, and the NIH will be followed.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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