Vaper to Vaper: A Multimodal Mobile Peer Driven Intervention to Support Adolescents in Quitting Vaping (V2V)

September 2, 2025 updated by: Rajani Sadasivam, University of Massachusetts, Worcester
The dramatic increase in the use of e-cigarettes among U.S. adolescents has been called a national epidemic, with more adolescents now using e-cigarettes than traditional cigarettes. The high amounts of nicotine in e-cigarettes harm adolescents and put them at greater risk of becoming traditional cigarette smokers. The investigators propose to develop Vaper-to-Vaper (V2V), a suite of mobile peer driven tools including peer texting and coaching based on lessons learned in the investigators' prior tobacco intervention work, to engage and help adolescents use strategies to manage cravings and successfully quit.

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

The FDA and the US Surgeon General call the increasing use of e-cigarettes among U.S. adolescents an epidemic, with e-cigarette use exceeding combustible cigarette use. The high amounts of nicotine in e-cigarettes harm adolescent brain development, impacting learning, memory, and attention. Adolescent e-cigarette users also are at higher risk than non-users of transitioning to traditional cigarettes. While prevention is important, evidence-based interventions to engage and help adolescent e-cigarette users quit are critically needed. Key challenges include adolescents perceiving e-cigarette use to be of low risk resulting in a low intention to quit, and the major influence of peers in e-cigarette use. Given there currently are no evidence-based cessation interventions to assist adolescent e-cigarette users in quitting, as suggested by the American Academy of Pediatrics and FDA, the investigators propose to develop Vaper-to-Vaper (V2V), a multi-modal mobile peer driven intervention, based on lessons learned in our prior tobacco intervention work. Peer-driven interventions have been found to successfully improve smoking outcomes in adolescents, and the investigators have had success in developing peer-driven interventions for low motivated adult smokers. The Investigators therefore will adapt these approaches for adolescent e-cigarette users. V2V's goal will be to engage, educate, motivate, and facilitate the adolescent in using strategies to manage cravings and successfully quit. The V2V components will include: Peer Messaging (tailored messages pushed via texting), Peer Coaching (asynchronous communications with trained coaches via texting), and Gamification (using game design to motivate participation). Adapting these tools to the unique needs of adolescent e-cigarette users will further extend these tools into novel directions. For Aim 1 the investigators will convene a peer advisory panel of 20 adolescent e-cigarette users to participate in a qualitative assessment and further development of V2V components. In Aim 2 the investigators will evaluate the feasibility of the research protocols and the feasibility and acceptability of the V2V intervention in a pilot feasibility study with eighty adolescent e-cigarette users from 4 high schools (schools randomized to either V2V intervention or control) recruited and followed for 6 months. The investigators hypothesize being able to recruit 80 adolescents (20/school, 40 per study condition) and that >85% will be retained in each study condition at 6-month follow-up (Aim 2A). For Aim 2b the investigators will monitor V2V engagement (e.g., number of V2V texting quizzes completed, peer coaching interactions, peer videos viewed) and assess acceptability of and satisfaction with the program. For Aim 2C the investigators hypothesize that the intervention will be associated with greater cotinine-validated 7-day point prevalence vaping abstinence rates, lower time to first quit attempt, and less amount of e-cigarette use compared to control at 6-month follow-up. This Stage I project, adapting an existing intervention and feasibility/pilot testing, will provide the necessary materials and information to proceed to a subsequent large-scale Stage III R01 trial to test the efficacy of the V2V intervention in supporting adolescent e-cigarette users in quitting.

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.
71

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 Locations

  • United States
    • Massachusetts
      • Worcester, Massachusetts, United States, 01605
        • UMass Chan Medical School

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

13 years to 19 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Enrolled in grade 9-12 at participating high school
  • Current e-cigarette user, as defined as a response greater than "0 days" to the question: "During the past 7 days, on how many days did you use e-cigarettes?" This eligibility criterion is modeled on a question in the 2018 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS), a survey of U.S. middle and high school students which used a 30-day timeframe.
  • Have a smartphone.
  • English- or Spanish-speaking

Exclusion Criteria: Unable or unwilling to provide informed assent or consent (in the case of those aged 18 years or older).

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: Parallel 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: Intervention
Students in schools randomized to the intervention will receive: (1) peer messages, written by current and former adolescent e-cigarette users and tailored by age and readiness-to-quit; (2) peer coaching, facilitated by texting; and (3) gamification, designed to motivate participation.
Behavioral: Peer Messaging
Peer messages, written by current and former adolescent e-cigarette users and tailored by age and readiness-to-quit.
Behavioral: Peer Coaching via Text
Peer coaching, facilitated by texting
Behavioral: Gamification
Gamification, designed to motivate participation
Active Comparator: Control
Students in schools randomized to the control condition will be provided e-cigarette cessation materials by the Research Coordinator at the time of study enrollment.
Other: E-Cigarette Cessation Materials
E-cigarette cessation materials by the Research Coordinator at the time of study enrollment.

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
Participant Recruitment and Retention
Time Frame: 3 months
Investigators will assess the number of those screened, eligible, and consented who remain active in the program at 3 months.
3 months

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
Acceptability of and Satisfaction With the Intervention
Time Frame: 3 months
Investigators will access the acceptability of and satisfaction with the intervention, as measured by Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8).The overall CSQ-8 score is calculated by summing the respondent's rating (item rating) score for each scale item. Scores therefore range from 8 to 32, with higher values indicating higher satisfaction. Similarly, investigators will look for association between summary score and cessation.
3 months
Number of Participants With Abstinence From Vaping as Measured by Saliva Samples [Cotinine-validated 7-day Point Prevalence]
Time Frame: 3 months
Cotinine-validated 7-day point prevalence abstinence, as measured by saliva samples collected from all; analyzed for those reporting 7-day abstinence; cut-off 11.4 ng/ml, cotinine-imputed abstinence when cotinine is missing.
3 months
Number of Peer Coaching Interactions
Time Frame: 3 months
Investigators will assess the system use (for V2V intervention only), as measured by the number of peer coaching interactions completed.
3 months
Number of Peer Videos Viewed
Time Frame: 3 months
Investigators will assess the system use (for V2V intervention only), as measured by the self-reported frequency of viewing peer videos.
3 months
Number of Games Engaged In
Time Frame: 3 months
Investigators will assess the system use (for V2V intervention only), as measured by the self-reported frequency of reading gamification texts.
3 months
Change in Self-Efficacy Score
Time Frame: Baseline and 3 months
Assessment of change in self-efficacy, as measured by the Self-efficacy Questionnaire (SEQ-12). The SEQ-12 (Self-Efficacy) Score is the mean of 12 items coded 1 (Not at all confident) to 5 (Extremely Confident). The score can range from 1-5, with higher scores indicating better confidence to refrain from vaping.
Baseline and 3 months
Number of Participants With With Change in Stage of Change
Time Frame: Baseline and 3 months
Investigators will also assess the change in stage of change, as measured by Prochaska's Stages of Change model. The stages of change are: Precontemplation, Contemplation, Preparation/Determination, Action/Willpower, Maintenance, and Relapse. Participants will self-report their stage of change at 0 and 3 months.
Baseline and 3 months
Change in Severity of Nicotine Addiction
Time Frame: Baseline and 3 months
Investigators will assess the change in the severity of nicotine addiction, as measured by the Hooked on Nicotine Checklist. The Hooked on Nicotine Checklist Score is the sum of 10 items coded 0 (Not endorsed) or 1 (Endorsed). The possible range is 0-10, with higher scores indicating a higher level of addiction.
Baseline and 3 months

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 Massachusetts, Worcester

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 Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

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: Rajani Sadasivam, PhD, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School
  • Principal Investigator: Lori Pbert, PhD, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School

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.
December 19, 2022

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.
June 9, 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.
August 30, 2024

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).
November 18, 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.
November 18, 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.
December 2, 2021

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

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.
September 4, 2025

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.
September 2, 2025

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.
September 1, 2025

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.
  • H00021082
  • R34DA050992 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

The final dataset will be available within 12 months of the end of the funded grant period. Due to the nature of our research, we will be collecting identifying information (i.e. names, phone numbers). We will strip the final dataset of identifiers prior to release for sharing. Even though the final dataset will be striped of identifiers prior to release for sharing, we believe that there remains the possibility of deductive disclosure of study participants with unusual characteristics. Thus, we will make the data and associated documentation available to qualified academic investigators for non-commercial research under a data-sharing agreement that provides for: (1) a commitment to using the data only for research purposes and not to identify any individual participant; 2) a commitment to securing the data using appropriate computer technology; and 3) a commitment to destroying or returning the data after analyses are completed.

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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