Text Messages in Preventing Tobacco Use in Young Adults

Informing and Correcting Perceptions Regarding Tobacco Products Among Young Adults

This trial studies how well text messages work in preventing tobacco use in young adults. Text messaging may help to teach young adults about the risks of tobacco products.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Healthy Subject
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Focus Group; Other: Computer-Assisted Intervention; Other: Informational Intervention; Other: Survey Administration

Detailed Description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To assess baseline knowledge and risk perceptions about the use of conventional and new and emerging tobacco products among a subset of community college students from the two participating Houston Community College (HCC) campuses (Central and Coleman campuses). (Phase 1.1) II. Test the text messages with university students enrolled in the health communications academic programs. (Phase 1.2) III. Assess the awareness, attitudes, receptivity, and comprehension of the harmful effects of conventional and new and emerging tobacco products among young adults. (Phase 2) IV. Identify the most effective combinations of text message framing for communicating information about the potential harmful effects of tobacco products to young adults. (Phase 2) V. To obtain an objective measure of the psychological (i.e., emotional and cognitive) effect of the messages on young adults. (Phase 3)

EXPLORATORY OBJECTIVES:

I. Define and analyze key moderators of young adult awareness, attitudes, receptivity, and understanding of the harmful risks and constituents of conventional, new and emerging tobacco products. (Phase 2)

OUTLINE:

PHASE I: Participants attend focus group over 2 hours.

PHASE II: Participants receive 2 text messages per day for 30 days at baseline and after 3 months.

PHASE III: Participants read 64 computer messages with or without images over 30 minutes and have their facial expressions assessed.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 781
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Texas
    • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
      • M D Anderson Cancer Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 25 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 18-25 (Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3)
• Attend classes at either Houston Community College (HCC) Central Campus or Coleman Campus (Phase 1 and Phase 2), Spring Branch Campus (Phase 2) or the University of Houston (Phase 3)
• Own a smartphone capable of receiving texts from the study's text messaging ) resource (Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3)
• Use phone text-messaging features on a regular basis (Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3)
• Provide cell phone number (Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3)
• Speak and read English (Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3)
• Enrolled in a communication program (Phase 1, health communication student review)
• Evidence of smoking susceptibility as defined by the Smoking Susceptibility Scale (Phase 3)

Exclusion Criteria:

-Currently a smoker (Phase 3)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Prevention (text messages, computer messages); PHASE I: Participants attend focus group over 2 hours. PHASE II: Participants receive 2 text messages per day for 30 days at baseline and after 3 months. PHASE III: Participants read 64 computer messages with or without images over 30 minutes and have their facial expressions assessed.	Behavioral: Focus Group; Attend focus group; Other: Computer-Assisted Intervention; Read computer messages; Other: Informational Intervention; Receive text messages; Other: Survey Administration; Complete surveys about experience

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Baseline knowledge and risk perceptions of Tobacco Use Questionnaire	Participants will take baseline knowledge and risk perceptions about the use of conventional and new and emerging tobacco products among a subset of community college students from the two participating Houston Community College (HCC) campuses (Central and Coleman campuses) Knowledge about whether products contain nicotine scale Yes or No (0-1) A higher score indicates higher knowledge Risk perception for using tobacco products scale from( 1-5) A higher score indicates a higher perception of risk of harm. No scale being used.	Up to 8 months
Focus Groups Questionnaire	No scale being used. Participants will take part in use of text messages within the university students enrolled in the health communications academic programs. Students will review and rate the messages with the goal of achieving 70% agreement among students across each text message. No scale will be used.	Up to 8 months
Perceived Risk Perception changes amongst young adults Questionnaire	Participants will show the awareness, attitudes, receptivity, and comprehension of the harmful effects of conventional and new and emerging tobacco products among young adults. 4-point Likert Scale. Higher scores will endorse beliefs for greater benefits of electronic cigarette use. 3-point Likert scale higher score endorse greater addictiveness. Risk perception for using tobacco products. Response format 1-5. A higher score indicates a higher perception of risk of harm. No scale being used.	Up to 8 months
Information seeking and avoidance about tobacco products Questionnaire	Participants will identify the most effective combinations of text message framing for communicating information about the potential harmful effects of tobacco products to young adults. Risk perception for using tobacco products. Response format 1-5. A Higher score indicates a higher perception of risk of harm. No scale being used.	Up to 8 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Risk perceptions related to tobacco products Questionnaire	Participants will have the two-way interactions for synergistic effects on perceived risk for young adults after post 3 month follow up used for determining high and low risk perceptions. Risk perception for using tobacco products. Response format 1-5. A higher score indicates a higher perception of risk of harm. No scale being used.	Up to 8 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
• Collaborators: National Cancer Institute (NCI)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Alexander V Prokhorov, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Prokhorov AV, Calabro KS, Arya A, Russell S, Czerniak KW, Botello GC, Chen M, Yuan Y, Perez A, Vidrine DJ, Perry CL, Khalil GE. Mobile Text Messaging for Tobacco Risk Communication Among Young Adult Community College Students: Randomized Trial of Project Debunk. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2021 Nov 24;9(11):e25618. doi: 10.2196/25618.
• Prokhorov AV, Khalil GE, Calabro KS, Machado TC, Russell S, Czerniak KW, Botello GC, Chen M, Perez A, Vidrine DJ, Perry CL. Mobile Phone Text Messaging for Tobacco Risk Communication Among Young Adult Community College Students: Protocol and Baseline Overview for a Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Res Protoc. 2018 Oct 15;7(10):e10977. doi: 10.2196/10977.

Helpful Links

• University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Website

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 20, 2013
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 29, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): January 29, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 28, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 1, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): March 7, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 2, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 29, 2021
• Last Verified: January 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: 2013-0474 (Other Identifier: M D Anderson Cancer Center); NCI-2018-01277 (Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program)); P50CA180906 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No