Tobacco Zero: Interactive Tobacco Education for Teens

Tobacco World: Interactive Tobacco Education for Teens

There have been a number of tobacco prevention programs developed and tested in the past few years, and some of the comprehensive programs have been promoted by the Office on Smoking and Health at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). However, the use of these programs and integration into school-based curriculum has been lacking due to a number of factors. We are proposing to develop an interactive computer-based program for tobacco prevention aimed at middle school students. The CD-ROM is designed to be an adjunct to the existing health education curriculum provided for 6th through 8th grade students.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Tobacco Use Disorder
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Interactive Tobacco Education

Detailed Description

The CD-ROM is based upon our Phase I prototype program entitled Tobacco World in which students are presented with a video arcade interface that offers them random access to several game-like activities in which they learn about tobacco and the negative health effects associated with tobacco use. We will expand the menu of options to include more complex activities and entertaining games.

The Phase II program will deliver engaging media to educate students about the risks of tobacco and peer and industry influences on their decisions regarding tobacco. Games and activities will be designed to act on mechanisms shown to be effective in decreasing intentions to use tobacco through changing attitudes, social images, beliefs about short and long term physical consequences, perceptions of peers' social images, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. We will test individual components of the program with middle school students for effectiveness in changing mediating variables related to initiation and use of tobacco.

The final program will be evaluated in a randomized trial where middle schools in Oregon and New York will be assigned to either an established tobacco prevention curriculum, or to the usual tobacco curriculum plus the Tobacco World program. Students will be assessed at pre-, post- and 6-month follow-up to evaluate the impact of program use on intentions, and actual tobacco use.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 1864
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Oregon
    • Eugene, Oregon, United States, 97401
      • Deschutes Research Inc

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 11 years to 15 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Middle school students in 6th or 7th or 8th grade in Oregon and New York City whose parents have consented to have their child participate;
• Middle school health education teachers in Oregon and New York City

Exclusion Criteria:

• Students unable to understand English.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Increase perceived behavioral control (self-efficacy)	pre and post

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Decrease willingness to use tobacco	pre and post
Decrease intentions to use tobacco	pre and post

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Deschutes Research, Inc.
• Collaborators: Columbia University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Herbert H Severson, PhD, Deschutes Research, Inc.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: November 1, 2009
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 1, 2010
• Study Completion (Actual): November 1, 2010

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 29, 2008
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 1, 2008
• First Posted (Estimate): May 2, 2008

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): February 17, 2012
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 16, 2012
• Last Verified: February 1, 2012

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Tobacco use among middle and junior high school students remains a concern among health educators.; The use of tobacco prevention programs and their integration into school-based curricula has been lacking due to a number of factors.
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders; Tobacco Use Disorder
• Other Study ID Numbers: 103623B