Digital Media for Cancer Control (to Prevent Vaping and Smoking Behavior) (DMCC)

March 9, 2026 updated by: W.Douglas Evans, George Washington University

Digital Media for Cancer Control: Randomized Controlled Trial and Dose-Response Effects

There is little published data on exposure to and evaluations of large-scale, online tobacco control campaigns. This project addresses the gap. Under 2 specific aims, the investigators will identify the independent effects of varying levels of digital message exposure to promote anti-tobacco attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors among youth and young adults, first through a randomized experiment online, and second through a field-based evaluation. These studies will advance the science of digital health and have wide application to future campaigns.

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

Tobacco remains the single leading preventable cause of death in the US and annual tobacco-related health care costs are estimated at $170 billion. In 2016, 20% of high school students (3.05 million youth) reported recent use of tobacco products and estimated 5.6 million youth under the age of 18 will die early due to smoking-related illness demonstrating a need for prevention interventions. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, some 13.1% of adults aged 18-24 were smokers, and over 5 million of these young adults will die early due to smoking-related illness. Moreover, the significant declines in youth cigarette smoking may be eclipsed by other tobacco products and use of JUUL, a highly-effective nicotine delivery product. Given their widespread use, there is a need to leverage digital media to influence health outcomes and public education campaigns are increasingly using them. Recent studies show that social media can be effective in countering tobacco industry product promotion online and as a tobacco control campaign platform. However, there is little published data on exposure to and evaluations of large-scale, online tobacco control campaigns. The proposed R01 project addresses this gap and builds on over 16 years of collaboration among the research team in evaluating the national Truth campaign. This application is significant for several reasons. First, tobacco use prevention and other health behavior change campaigns are increasingly delivered through digital channels, yet few studies have focused on rigorous measurement of digital message exposure and response. Exposure measures are a critical component since analyses either compare those exposed to the unexposed, or examine a dose-response curve among varying levels of campaign exposure. This research will use pixel tracking (HTML codes embedded in digital ads) to measure campaign dose-response effects. While the predictive value of self-report and exogenous mass media measures of exposure (e.g., Gross Rating Points) has been well studied, there is little evidence on the effects of digital exposure. Finally, little is known about the independent effects of varying levels of digital message exposure to promote anti-tobacco attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors among youth and young adults. In aim 1, the investigators will conduct a 6-month controlled, online, randomized study to compare the effects of varying levels of digital media exposure, measured by pixel tracking, on campaign-targeted tobacco-related knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and behavioral outcomes. In aim 2, the investigators will conduct a field-based randomized trial to evaluate a truth digital campaign to confirm the relationship between digital media exposure, message awareness, and tobacco-related outcomes over 36 months. The result of these studies will be benchmark methods and measures of digital ad exposure that have wide application to future digital health campaigns.

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.
2800

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.
  • Name: W. Douglas Evans, Ph.D.
  • Phone Number: 202-994-3632
  • Email: wdevans@gwu.edu

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • District of Columbia
      • Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States, 20052
        • The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health

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 to 24 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Young adults age 18-24 who are members of the Ipsos/Knowledge Panel

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Those who do not meet inclusion criteria

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: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Factorial Assignment
  • Masking: Single

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: Digital intervention
Participants will be randomized to receive variable levels of exposure (including no exposure control) of digital anti-vaping and anti-smoking messages. We will evaluate the effects of experimental condition and exposure on outcomes (tobacco product use).
Behavioral: Anti-vaping and anti-smoking digital advertising
Delivery of social media based advertising to prevent vaping and smoking among young adults ages 18-24.
No Intervention: Control
No exposure control condition

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
30-day use of electronic cigarettes (vaping)
Time Frame: Ad Awareness Outcome (Aim 1): By the end of year 1, Vaping & Smoking Outcome (Aim 2): By the end of year 5
Frequency of vaping during the past 30 days
Ad Awareness Outcome (Aim 1): By the end of year 1, Vaping & Smoking Outcome (Aim 2): By the end of year 5

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.
George Washington University

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 Institutes of Health (NIH)

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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.
February 20, 2021

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.
February 28, 2026

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.
February 28, 2026

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).
February 1, 2021

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.
April 29, 2021

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.
April 30, 2021

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.
March 10, 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.
March 9, 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.
March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

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.
  • NCR202837

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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Conditions

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