Impact of Appointment Reminder Strategies on Smoking Cessation Clinic Attendance (NO-SHOW-NCC)

August 20, 2026 updated by: Łukasz Balwicki, Medical University of Gdansk

Effect of Reminder Strategies on No-Show Rates in a Nicotine Cessation Clinic: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether different appointment reminder methods can improve attendance at an anti-smoking (smoking cessation) clinic among adult smokers.

The main question it aims to answer is:

"Which reminder method helps participants come to their scheduled smoking cessation clinic appointments most often?" Researchers will compare different appointment reminder methods with standard appointment scheduling to see if they help participants attend their clinic visits more often.

Participants will:

  • Receive appointment reminders using different methods
  • Come to their scheduled visits at a smoking cessation (anti-nicotine) clinic

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

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.

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 (Estimated)

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.
300

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

  • Poland
    • Pomeranian Voivodeship
      • Gdansk, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, 80-952
        • University Clinical Centre
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Jagoda K Arendt

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age ≥ 18 years. Confirmed diagnosis of nicotine dependence (F17 according to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision [ICD-10]) and active patient status at the Smoking Cessation Clinic.
  • Provision of voluntary, written, informed consent to participate in the study and to be contacted by telephone or short text message.
  • Ability to independently provide information and operate a mobile phone.
  • At the time of study enrollment, attendance at an initial visit at the clinic.

Exclusion Criteria

  • Age < 18 years.
  • Lack of written, informed consent to participate in the study.
  • Inability to independently understand the study procedures or provide responses (e.g., due to dementia or a language barrier).

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: Health Services Research
  • 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.
No Intervention: Standard of care - Text message
Participants will receive a standard, automated text message reminding them of their scheduled appointment. The message will be sent 1 day before the scheduled appointment. The content of the message will be limited to logistical information (date, time, and location) and instructions on how to reschedule or cancel the appointment.
Experimental: Text message and standard phone call
Participants will receive a text message (similar to Arm 1) one day before the appointment and, additionally, a phone call from a trained staff member 1-5 days before the appointment. The conversation will follow a strictly standardized script limited solely to confirming the appointment date, without any motivational or therapeutic elements.
Behavioral: Standard phone call
Participants will receive a phone call from a trained staff member 1-5 days before the appointment. The conversation will follow a strictly standardized script limited solely to confirming the appointment date, without any motivational or therapeutic elements.
Experimental: Text message and phone call with MINDSPACE elements

Participants will receive a short text message (similar to Arm 1) and a phone call 1-5 days before their appointment. The conversation will follow a standardized script incorporating behavioral intervention (nudging) elements based on the MINDSPACE (Messenger, Incentives, Norms, Defaults, Salience, Priming, Affect, Commitments, Ego) framework. Key components of the script include:

  • Messenger (Sender): Emphasizing that the information comes from the medical team.
  • Norms (Social Norms): Referring to success statistics for regular visits.
  • Commitment: Encouraging verbal confirmation of attendance.
  • Affect (Emotions): Providing short messages reinforcing a sense of support.
Behavioral: phone call with MINDSPACE elements

Participants will receive a phone call 1-5 days before their appointment. The conversation will follow a standardized script incorporating behavioral intervention (nudging) elements based on the MINDSPACE framework. Key components of the script include:

  • Messenger (Sender): Emphasizing that the information comes from the medical team.
  • Norms (Social Norms): Referring to success statistics for regular visits.
  • Commitment: Encouraging verbal confirmation of attendance.
  • Affect (Emotions): Providing short messages reinforcing a sense of support.
Other Names:
  • MINDSPACE

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
Patient attendance at scheduled follow-up visit
Time Frame: At the second scheduled visit at the Nicotine Cessation Clinic (2-8 weeks after baseline).
Primary Outcome: The primary outcome measure is a binary assessment of patient attendance (Present/Absent) at the scheduled second visit, which takes place 2-8 weeks after the initial visit, as determined by the physician's individual assessment. Attendance will be verified on the day of the scheduled visit based on objective data recorded in the "CliniNET" hospital system.
At the second scheduled visit at the Nicotine Cessation Clinic (2-8 weeks after baseline).

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
Impact of sociodemographic and clinical factors on patient attendance
Time Frame: at baseline and 2 to 8 weeks after enrollment
Secondary Outcomes: Secondary analyses will include an assessment of the impact of sociodemographic and clinical factors based on tests routinely performed as part of a medical visit (age, sex, level of dependence according to the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND)).
at baseline and 2 to 8 weeks after enrollment

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.
Medical University of Gdansk

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

Helpful Links

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 (Estimated)

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 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
April 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

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.
April 1, 2027

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).
August 7, 2026

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.
August 20, 2026

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.
August 21, 2026

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 21, 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 20, 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.
August 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.
  • KB/134/2026

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data (IPD) will not be shared with other researchers. Due to privacy and confidentiality concerns, as well as applicable data protection laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), de-identified IPD from individual participants will not be made available.

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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