Effectiveness of Volitional Help Sheets as an Adjunct to Treatment to Promote Behavior Change: A Pilot Study on Smoking (VHS_T)

November 3, 2026 updated by: Clinique de la Mitterie

Effectiveness of Volitional Help Sheets as an Adjunct to Treatment to Promote Behavior Change: A Pilot Study on Smoking (VHS_T)

Smoking is a major public health concern associated with substantial morbidity and premature mortality. Planning may help people who wish to change their smoking behavior by translating their intentions into action.

Volitional help sheets (VHS) are brief, low-cost tools designed to support behavior change. They help individuals create personalized "if-then" plans by linking situations in which they may be tempted to smoke with strategies for responding to those situations.

Previous studies suggest that VHS may support changes in smoking and other health behaviors. However, they have mainly been evaluated in English-speaking populations, outside clinical settings, and as stand-alone interventions.

This pilot study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a smoking-specific volitional help sheet as an adjunct to care in a clinical setting.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Smoking is a major public health concern. For people who wish to change their smoking behavior, planning strategies may help translate intentions into action. Volitional help sheets (VHS) are brief tools that support this process by helping individuals create personalized "if-then" plans. These plans link situations in which a person may be tempted to smoke with strategies for responding to those situations.

Previous studies suggest that VHS may support changes in smoking and other health behaviors. However, they have mainly been evaluated in English-speaking populations, outside clinical settings, and as stand-alone interventions. This pilot study will evaluate a smoking-specific VHS as an adjunct to usual care in a clinical setting.

This is a single-center, randomized, controlled, single-blind interventional study conducted in the tobacco treatment department of the Clinique de la Mitterie. Patients will be invited to participate after their first tobacco treatment consultation. Eligible patients who provide informed consent will complete baseline assessments and be assigned to one of two groups:

  • VHS group: participants will receive usual tobacco treatment care and complete a volitional help sheet. They will select situations and strategies relevant to their personal smoking-related goal and link them to form "if-then" plans.
  • Control group: participants will receive usual tobacco treatment care. Usual care is tailored to each patient's needs and goals. It may include individual consultations or participation in a day-hospital program addressing topics such as tobacco use and emotions, motivation for change, and well-being.

Data will be analyzed using a sequential Bayesian approach. Recruitment may stop when the prespecified threshold for evidence in favor of an effect or no effect is reached, or when the maximum planned sample size is reached. The planned recruitment period is up to 60 months, and each participant will be followed for approximately one month

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

376

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 Contact

Study Locations

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

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who have just completed their first consultation in the tobacco treatment department at the Clinique de la Mitterie.
  • Ability to understand written and spoken French.
  • Affiliation with a social security scheme.
  • Provision of informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • None

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
No Intervention: Usual care

Participants will receive usual tobacco treatment care according to their individual needs and goals. They will not complete the volitional help sheet.
Experimental: Volitional Help Sheet plus Usual Care

Participants will receive usual tobacco treatment care and complete a smoking-specific volitional help sheet after their first tobacco treatment consultation. They will select personally relevant situations in which they may be tempted to smoke and strategies to respond to those situations, then link them to form "if-then" plans.
Behavioral: Smoking-Specific Volitional Help Sheet

Participants complete a smoking-specific volitional help sheet after their first tobacco treatment consultation. They select personally relevant situations in which they may be tempted to smoke and strategies to respond to those situations. They then link these situations and strategies to form personalized "if-then" plans.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in cigarette dependence as measured by the Cigarette Dependence Scale (CDS-12)
Time Frame: Baseline and one month after the intervention

Change in cigarette dependence between baseline and the one-month follow-up, assessed using the 12-item Cigarette Dependence Scale (CDS-12). Changes will be compared between the volitional help sheet plus usual care group and the usual care alone group.

Total scores range from 12 to 60, with higher scores indicating greater cigarette dependence and a worse outcome.
Baseline and one month after the intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in smoking behavioral automaticity
Time Frame: Baseline and one month after the intervention

Change in the subjective automaticity of smoking behavior between baseline and the one-month follow-up, assessed using the Self-Report Behavioral Automaticity Index (SRBAI).

Mean scores range from 1 to 7, with higher scores indicating greater automaticity of smoking behavior and a worse outcome.
Baseline and one month after the intervention
Change in smoking-related behavioral identity
Time Frame: Baseline and one month after the intervention

Change in smoking-related behavioral identity between baseline and the one-month follow-up, assessed using the Self-Report Behavioral Identity Index (SRBII).

The questionnaire comprises four items rated from 1 to 7. The overall score is calculated as the mean of the four items and ranges from 1 to 7, with higher scores indicating stronger identification with smoking behavior and a worse outcome. A decrease in score indicates improvement. Changes will be compared between the volitional help sheet plus usual care group and the usual care alone group.
Baseline and one month after the intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Clinique de la Mitterie

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 (Actual)

March 11, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

March 11, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

March 11, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

October 27, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 27, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

November 2, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

November 6, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 3, 2026

Last Verified

November 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • MR-P0012
  • 2025-A01739-40 (Other Identifier: National Agency for Safety and Medicines)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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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