Twitter-enabled Mobile Messaging for Smoking Relapse Prevention

October 8, 2024 updated by: Cornelia Pechmann, University of California, Irvine
We conducted a two-arm (test vs. control, N=160) randomized controlled trial of small, private, online support groups for quitting smoking with 20 people per group who were seeking to quit smoking. A novel feature was a bot (auto-messenger) that posted a daily cessation-related discussion topic in each group, timed to the group's quit date.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Smoking relapse rates remain high, innovative strategies are needed to lower them, and web-based social networking may help like Twitter. This developmental research examined whether providing virtual (web-based) social support to smokers, through Twitter-enabled interactive peer texting, could help smokers quit and avoid relapses. Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service, one of the most advanced and novel technologies available today that can provide social support to smokers, and it provides free texting to groups. It is global and has many features that are associated with treatment success including interactive, multi-way, live messaging and mobile accessibility, because the messages go instantly to mobile phones and to the web. It can provide an innovative way to reach smokers who might otherwise not seek treatment, and it can be extended to other health domains. From June 2012 through 2014, we conducted a two-condition randomized controlled trial. All participants in this trial (N=160) received 8 weeks of free nicotine patches, referral to the NCI's online Smokefree.gov Quit Guide, and instruction to set a quit date within 1 week of study start. Participants were also randomly assigned at the individual level to one of two conditions: (1) a virtual or online quit-smoking group on Twitter where the group members were instructed to use interactive peer messaging to help them quit and stay quit, or (2) a control group condition where the group members were not given this instruction or a Twitter group. In total, there were 4 Twitter groups and 4 control groups with 20 smokers randomly assigned to each group (i.e., N=80 test, N=80 control). In the Twitter groups, a bot (auto-messenger) posted a daily cessation-related discussion topic in each group, timed to the group's quit date. The primary outcome was self-reported 7-day point prevalence abstinence that was sustained at 7, 30 and 60 days after the quit date. Participants' posts, their virtual and face-to-face social networks, and several other possible mediating and moderating variables were also analyzed.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

160

Phase

  • 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 Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Irvine, California, United States, 92697
        • University of California Irvine
      • Irvine, California, United States, 92697
        • Hosted Study Website Tweet2Quit@Merage.Uci.Edu

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

18 years to 59 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • must have smoked 100 cigarettes during their lifetime
  • must currently smoke 5 or more cigarettes a day
  • must be in the preparation stage of quitting smoking
  • ages 18-59 years
  • English speaking
  • have a mobile phone with an unlimited texting plan and internet access
  • use text messaging at least once a week
  • use Facebook daily
  • have an active email account
  • live in the continental USA

Exclusion Criteria:

  • a medical condition that is contra-indicated for nicotine replacement therapy:
  • pregnant
  • breast feeding
  • a recent heart attack
  • an irregular heartbeat
  • high blood pressure not controlled with medication
  • skin allergies to adhesive tape or serious skin problems
  • taking a prescription medicine for depression or anxiety
  • use drugs or marijuana regularly
  • live in the same household with another participant

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: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Twitter
Experimental participants are assigned a 20-person twitter quit-smoking group to interact with, are instructed to use Twitter-enabled interactive peer messaging,and are sent daily messages to encourage interaction. The baseline intervention 'smoking cessation aides' is also provided.
Behavioral: smoking cessation aides
All participants will receive 8 weeks of free nicotine patches, referral to the NCI's online Smokefree.gov Quit Guide, and instruction to set a quit date within 8 days of study start.
Behavioral: Twitter
Twitter quit-smoking group
Active Comparator: Control
Control participants are not assigned to a twitter group. The baseline intervention 'smoking cessation aides' is also provided.
Behavioral: smoking cessation aides
All participants will receive 8 weeks of free nicotine patches, referral to the NCI's online Smokefree.gov Quit Guide, and instruction to set a quit date within 8 days of study start.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Self-reported 7-day Point Prevalence Abstinence From Smoking That Was Sustained at 60 Days After the Quit Date
Time Frame: 60 days after quit date
self-reported 7-day point prevalence abstinence from smoking that was sustained at 60 days after the quit date, based on survey
60 days after quit date

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Level of Engagement Based on Tweet Volume
Time Frame: 100 days total
level of engagement based on tweet volume which is observed in support groups
100 days total

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of California, Irvine

Collaborators

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Cornelia Pechmann, PhD, University of California, Irvine

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

January 1, 2012

Primary Completion (Actual)

June 1, 2014

Study Completion (Actual)

June 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 17, 2012

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 17, 2012

First Posted (Estimated)

May 21, 2012

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

October 31, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 8, 2024

Last Verified

October 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 20107990
  • 1R34DA030538-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

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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