Smoking Cessation Support for Patients With Rheumatologic Diseases Via WhatsApp

The Effect of Supporting Routine Smoking Cessation Interventions With Whatsapp-mediated Motivational Information on Smoking Cessation Success in Active Smokers With Inflammatory Rheumatic Diseases: A Randomized Controlled Study

Smoking cessation support for patients with rheumatologist diseases is an underestimated issue. In the previous prospective cohort study the investigators determined that with the brief cessation interventions 63.5% of smokers with rheumatologic diseases were willing to quit and the rest 36.4% were not willing. Among the willing group the highest quit rate was detected in the group that admitted to smoking cessation clinic. Therefore to increase the willingness to quit as well as to increase the Access to evidence based tobacco cessation support using new comminication technologies can be relevant. Investigators' aim in this study is to examine the effect of including WhatsApp in the routine smoking cessation practices on the quitting success of active smokers with rheumatic diseases who apply to the Rheumatology outpatient clinic.

Study Overview

• Status: Terminated
• Conditions: Tobacco Use Cessation
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Mobile messages via What's App

Detailed Description

In this randomized controlled study, the sample will be randomly divided to 2 arms. In one arm, usual care arm, smoker patients with rheumatologist diseases will be implemented brief smoking cessation interventions and referred to quit lines or smoking cessation services and also directly contacted to get an appointment from the cessation clinic. In the other arm, the intervention arm, smoker patients with rheumatologist diseases will be implemented brief tobacco cessation interventions and directly contacted to get an appointment from cessation clinic and will be send periodically motivational and informative text messages regarding tobacco cessation via WhatsApp.

Primary outcome measures will be the quit rate of both arms at 3rd, 6th and 12th month.

Secondary outcomes will be access to evidence based smoking cessation support, admission rate of smoking cessation clinic and treatment use duration of cessation medications.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 220
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Turkey
  • Rize, Turkey
    • Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, Training and Research Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Patients applying to the rheumatology outpatient clinic
2. Those aged 18 and over
3. Those who are active smokers
4. Those diagnosed with inflammatory rheumatic disease
5. Those who gave informed written consent to participate in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Those with active psychiatric disease diagnoses such as psychosis, major depression, schizophrenia among their current diagnoses
2. Those with cognitive dysfunction

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Usual care; Usual care arm, smoker patients with rheumatologist diseases will be implemented brief smoking cessation interventions and referred to quit lines or smoking cessation services and also directly contacted to get an appointment from the cessation clinic.	Other: Mobile messages via What's App; The information article that was prepared by taking the opinions of academics experienced in adult education, and were prepared as a video by the primary Rheumatologist who performs the randomization and will be shared in the Whatsapp group as information. Additionally, information will be provided once a week regarding the appointment date of the smoking cessation clinic.
Experimental: Intervention; The intervention arm, smoker patients with rheumatologist diseases will be implemented brief tobacco cessation interventions and directly contacted to get an appointment from cessation clinic and will be send periodically motivational and informative text messages regarding tobacco cessation via WhatsApp.	Other: Mobile messages via What's App; The information article that was prepared by taking the opinions of academics experienced in adult education, and were prepared as a video by the primary Rheumatologist who performs the randomization and will be shared in the Whatsapp group as information. Additionally, information will be provided once a week regarding the appointment date of the smoking cessation clinic.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Rate of participants with successful quit attempt	Successful quitter: sustained abstinence since the target quit date will be asked and validated by exhaled breath carbon monoxide measure.	3-6 and 12 months after the randomization

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Access to evidence based cessation support	Admitters to cessation clinics	Within one year after the randomization

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Recep Tayyip Erdogan University Training and Research Hospital
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Osman Cüre, M.D, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Department of Rheumatology

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Cheung YT, Chan CH, Lai CK, Chan WF, Wang MP, Li HC, Chan SS, Lam TH. Using WhatsApp and Facebook Online Social Groups for Smoking Relapse Prevention for Recent Quitters: A Pilot Pragmatic Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial. J Med Internet Res. 2015 Oct 22;17(10):e238. doi: 10.2196/jmir.4829.

Helpful Links

• An example of a comprehensive approach to increase the access to evidence-based tobacco cessation support for smokers with rheumatic diseases

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 10, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 1, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): June 30, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 13, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 12, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): January 23, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 25, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 21, 2025
• Last Verified: July 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: tobacco cessation; rheumatologic diseases; smoking cessation support
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Musculoskeletal Diseases; Connective Tissue Diseases; Rheumatic Diseases; Collagen Diseases
• Other Study ID Numbers: SCRW

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No