A Randomized Controlled Trial to Test the Effect of a Smartphone Quit Smoking Intervention on Young Adult Smokers

Effect of a Smartphone Intervention on Quitting Smoking in a Young Adult Population of Smokers: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The primary aim of this study will be to determine the effectiveness of a smartphone delivered app for young adult smokers on quitting smoking.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Cigarette Smoking
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Crush the Crave Application; Behavioral: On the Road to Quitting - Self Help

Detailed Description

The principle study purpose of the randomized controlled trial is to determine the effectiveness of a smartphone delivered app for young adult smokers on smoking cessation at six months using a randomized controlled trial. Secondary aims of this study include examining: 1) proximal outcome measures of cessation behaviour; 2) satisfaction, extent of app use and use of NRT and other cessation services; 3) mediators of cessation outcomes between conditions; and 4) the incremental cost-effectiveness.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 1601
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Canada
  • Ontario
    • Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L3G1
      • University of Waterloo

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 19 years to 29 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 19 to 29 years
• Currently smoking cigarettes daily or occasionally
• Residing in Canada
• Considering quitting smoking in the next 30 days
• Have an Android or iPhone OS smartphone
• Able to provide informed consent
• English comprehension
• Not referred by a study participant

Exclusion Criteria:

- opposite of the above

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Crush the Crave Application; Crush the Crave (CTC) intervention group will receive a quit smoking smartphone intervention via the internet that is based on scientific findings related to tobacco use among young adults. It is a multi-component intervention informed by evidence on quitting smoking. The app was developed with the input of key experts in the field of smoking cessation, was assessed against Fiore's practice guidelines for treating tobacco use and dependence, and was tested with eight focus groups of male and female young adult smokers (n=57) on functionality, look and feel and usability, as well as being piloted by over 300 smokers.	Behavioral: Crush the Crave Application; Crush the Crave (CTC) allows users to customize a quit plan by choosing a quit date and then deciding whether to quit now or cut down the number of cigarettes they smoke every week up to the quit date. CTC reminds users of money saved and health improvements. Based on contingency reinforcement, rewards are provided, which smokers can then choose to share with their social network via Facebook. Supportive text messages tailored to their specific quit plan and where they are in the quitting experience are provided. CTC allows tracking of daily smoking habits and cravings as well as craving triggers or psychosocial determinants by recording when, where and why smoking occurred. Online distractions to help smokers deal with cravings are provided.; Other Names: Behavior change; Android; iPhone; Mobile phone; Quit smoking; Social media; Facebook
Active Comparator: On the Road to Quitting - Self Help; The control group will receive an evidence-based self-help guide known as "On the Road to Quitting"(45) that has been developed by Health Canada for young adult smokers. Participants will be able to both view the self-help guide via the internet and will receive a printed version of the guide.	Behavioral: On the Road to Quitting - Self Help; The control group will receive an evidence-based self-help guide known as "On the Road to Quitting" that has been developed by Health Canada for young adult smokers. Participants will be able to both view the self-help guide via the internet and will receive a printed version of the guide.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
30 day point prevalence of abstinence	30 day point prevalence of abstinence at 6 months,operationalized as not having smoked any cigarettes, even a puff, or used other tobacco in the last 30 days.	6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
7-day abstinence	7 day point prevalence of abstinence at 6 months,operationalized as not having smoked any cigarettes, even a puff, or used other tobacco in the last 30 days	6 months
Number of quit attempts	How many times did you stop using tobacco for 24 hours or longer over the past six months?	6 months
Consumption of cigarettes	Reduction in the consumption of cigarettes since baseline and behavioural intentions to quit smoking using questions from the Minimal Dataset and nicotine withdrawal using the Fagerstrom test for nicotine dependence.	Baseline and at 6 months
Satisfaction and App Utilization	Satisfaction with program, app utilization metrics, and use of smoking cessation services (NRT, health professional consults,medications and quitline counseling)	6 months
Psychosocial measures	Beliefs, attitudes and social norms using the Smoking Attitudes Scale, stress using the 14-item Perceived Stress Scale, self-efficacy using Etter's 12 items, and perceived social support using the modified 7-item subjective support subscale of the Duke Social Support Index.	Baseline and at 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Waterloo
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Neill B Baskerville, PhD, University of Waterloo

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Baskerville NB, Struik LL, Guindon GE, Norman CD, Whittaker R, Burns C, Hammond D, Dash D, Brown KS. Effect of a Mobile Phone Intervention on Quitting Smoking in a Young Adult Population of Smokers: Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2018 Oct 23;6(10):e10893. doi: 10.2196/10893.
• Baskerville NB, Struik LL, Dash D. Crush the Crave: Development and Formative Evaluation of a Smartphone App for Smoking Cessation. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2018 Mar 2;6(3):e52. doi: 10.2196/mhealth.9011.
• Baskerville NB, Struik LL, Hammond D, Guindon GE, Norman CD, Whittaker R, Burns CM, Grindrod KA, Brown KS. Effect of a mobile phone intervention on quitting smoking in a young adult population of smokers: randomized controlled trial study protocol. JMIR Res Protoc. 2015 Jan 19;4(1):e10. doi: 10.2196/resprot.3823.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: January 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 1, 2015
• Study Completion (Actual): November 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 6, 2013
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 12, 2013
• First Posted (Estimate): November 13, 2013

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): December 2, 2015
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 1, 2015
• Last Verified: December 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Smoking cessation; Young adults; Population Health; Cancer prevention; Social Media; Smartphone technology; Tobacco control strategies; Behaviour modification
• Other Study ID Numbers: 19275