Personalized Support Using Instant Messaging Applications to Increase Smoking Cessation

The University of Hong Kong (HKU)

Status

Unknown

Conditions

Smoking Cessation

Treatments

Behavioral: Active referral to smoking cessation (SC) services

Behavioral: Health warning leaflet

Behavioral: Psychosocial support and referral to SC services through IM

Behavioral: Regular messages through Instant Messaging (IM)

Behavioral: AWARD advice

Behavioral: Message on general health delivered by short message service (SMS)

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT03800719

Personalized IM+referral

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study aims to assess the effect of personalized support using instant messaging application on smoking cessation in smokers proactively recruited from smoking hotspots in Hong Kong.

Full description

Detailed Description: With the advancement of information communication technologies (ICTs), instant messaging applications (IM Apps, e.g. WhatsApp and WeChat) can be used for providing synchronous, personalized, interactive interventions for health promotion. This study proposes to apply IM Apps for enhancing our tested brief smoking cessation (SC) intervention model from AWARD to e-AWARD (AWARD: Ask, Warn, Advise, Refer, Do-it-again,) without medications to increase SC in smokers proactively recruited in smoking hotspots in Hong Kong. Such smokers are the majority and have low quit rate. IM Apps allows trained SC advisors to proactively deliver personalized SC advices, response to smokers' needs promptly, and provide psychosocial support. No similar trials are found in PubMed, Cochrane Library and trial registries (ClinicalTrials.gov & ISRCTN) (except the pilot trial of this study). The aims of this study are as follows:

To assess the main effect of the personalized support using instant messaging applications (Intervention) vs. Control group on biochemical validated smoking abstinence at 6-month and 12-month.
To assess the effects on self-reported past 7-day abstinence, 24-week continuous abstinence, smoking reduction, self-efficacy of quitting, intention to quit, quit attempts and SC medications and services use at 6-month and 12-month.
To identify the mediators, which can inform mechanisms of the intervention on SC.
To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the above interventions.
To understand the effects subjects' experience of IM support on SC using a qualitative study approach.

Enrollment

696 estimated patients

Sex

All

Ages

18+ years old

Volunteers

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Adult smokers aged 18+ who smoke cigarette(s) daily.
Exhaled carbon monoxide (CO) level of 4ppm or above.
Having smartphones with IM Apps (WhatsApp) and have experience in using.
Hong Kong residents able to read and communicate in Chinese (Cantonese or Putonghua).

Exclusion criteria

Smokers who have psychiatric/psychological diseases or are on regular psychotropic medications.
Smokers who are using SC medication, NRT, other SC services or projects.

Trial design

Primary purpose

Treatment

Allocation

Randomized

Interventional model

Parallel Assignment

Masking

Triple Blind

696 participants in 2 patient groups

Intervention Group

Experimental group

Description:

AWARD advice, health warning leaflet, active referral to smoking cessation (SC) services, regular messages through Instant Messaging (IM), psychosocial support and referral to SC services through IM

Treatment:

Behavioral: Psychosocial support and referral to SC services through IM

Behavioral: Active referral to smoking cessation (SC) services

Behavioral: Health warning leaflet

Behavioral: Regular messages through Instant Messaging (IM)

Behavioral: AWARD advice

Control Group

Active Comparator group

Description:

AWARD advice, health warning leaflet, active referral to smoking cessation (SC) services, SMS message on general health

Treatment:

Behavioral: Active referral to smoking cessation (SC) services