School Nurse-Delivered Smoking Cessation Intervention

August 18, 2011 updated by: Lori Pbert, University of Massachusetts, Worcester
The purpose of this study is to conduct a randomized controlled school-based trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a four-session school nurse-delivered smoking cessation intervention in increasing abstinence rates among high school students who smoke.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

Smoking is the largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the United States. Adolescent smoking is the greatest predictor of adult smoking and is associated with adverse health effects during adolescence. Twenty-two percent of high school students report current smoking (past 30 days). As the primary health professional in the school setting, school nurses have a tremendous opportunity to play a key role in treating adolescent smokers. A randomized controlled trial (RCT) conducted by the investigators in 71 high schools in Massachusetts demonstrated the feasibility of school nurses delivering a four-session individual counseling intervention to adolescents who want to stop smoking and its potential efficacy in increasing self-reported short term (6-week and 3-month) quit rates. Although promising, the preliminary study lacked biochemical validation and long-term follow-up on the maintenance of the intervention effects, and was conducted with a primarily white student population. This application seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention using a more rigorous methodology, including biochemical validation of self-reported smoking behavior and longer-term follow-up (6 and 12 months post-intervention), a study design that compares the intervention to an information only attention-control condition, and recruitment from ethnically diverse schools to increase the generalizability of our findings.

The overall aim of the proposed study is to conduct a randomized controlled school-based trial (RCT) to evaluate the effectiveness of a school nurse-delivered smoking cessation intervention in increasing 30 day abstinence rates among high school students who smoke. Forty high schools serving a diverse student population will be recruited and randomly assigned to one of two conditions: (1) Special Intervention (SI) - four 30-minute individual patient-centered smoking cessation counseling intervention sessions based on the Public Health Service (PHS) clinical practice guideline delivered by school nurses; or (2) Information Only (IO) attention-control comparison condition - four individual sessions with the school nurse to check smoking status and deliver a standardized series of informational pamphlets on smoking and cessation. Participant assessments will occur at study entry (baseline) and at 3-,12-month follow-up. Thirty students enrolled in grades 9 through 12 who report smoking within the past 30 days and willingness to participate in a smoking cessation intervention study will be recruited from each school (n=1200) to provide 25 completed assessments per school at 12-month follow-up (n=1000). If found effective, the study products (i.e., intervention protocol, student materials, training manual, and estimated costs of intervention implementation) will facilitate dissemination of the intervention to school nurses nationally.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

1058

Phase

  • Phase 2
  • Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Locations

    • Massachusetts
      • Worcester, Massachusetts, United States, 01655
        • University of Massachusetts 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

Ages Eligible for Study

13 years to 18 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • enrolled in grades 9-12
  • report smoking at least one puff of a cigarette in the past 30 days
  • willingness to participate in a smoking cessation intervention study
  • able to speak and read English
  • able to complete the baseline questionnaire independently, indicating ability to complete study assessments and protocols
  • intending to remain enrolled in the school for the remainder of the school year
  • willing to provide contact information for the next 12 months

Exclusion Criteria:

  • unwilling/unable to provide informed assent
  • planning to move out of the area in the next 6 months

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: CI
Four 30-minute individual student-centered smoking cessation counseling intervention sessions delivered by school nurses to adolescent smokers in grades 9-12
Four 30-minute individual student-centered smoking cessation counseling intervention sessions delivered by school nurses to adolescent smokers in grades 9-12
Other Names:
  • Calling It Quits
Active Comparator: II
Attention-control comparison condition consisting of four individual sessions with the school nurse to check smoking status and deliver a series of standardized pamphlets on smoking and cessation to adolescent smokers in grades 9-12
Attention-control comparison condition consisting of four individual sessions with the school nurse to check smoking status and deliver a series of standardized pamphlets on smoking and cessation to adolescent smokers in grades 9-12

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Abstinence from cigarette smoking in the past 30 days at 3 months and 1 year.
Time Frame: 3 months and 1 year post baseline
3 months and 1 year post baseline

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Reduction in number of cigarettes and days smoked
Time Frame: 3 months and 1 year post baseline
3 months and 1 year post baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

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

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.

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

September 1, 2006

Primary Completion (Actual)

June 1, 2009

Study Completion (Actual)

February 1, 2010

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 20, 2008

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 20, 2008

First Posted (Estimate)

May 22, 2008

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

August 19, 2011

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 18, 2011

Last Verified

August 1, 2011

More Information

Terms related to this study

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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