Testing the Feasibility and Acceptability of Social Media and Digital Therapeutics to Decrease Vaping Behaviors

The Washington University

Status and phase: Enrolling; Phase 1

Conditions: Nicotine Use Disorder; Nicotine Vaping

Treatments: Device: quitSTART Mobile Application; Behavioral: Chatbot Feature in quitSTART Mobile Application

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT05994209

1R34DA054725-01A1

R34DA054725 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Details and patient eligibility

About

Use of vaping products (e.g., electronic nicotine delivery systems, e-cigarettes) has been increasing rapidly, particularly among teens and young adults. With limited information on the long-term effects of vaping products, health information about vaping has been somewhat unclear in regards to associated health risks. Teens and young adults may be reluctant to disclose their use of vaping products to parents or health providers and instead turn to social media to share and seek out information regarding vaping risks and cessation supports. Thus, our current proposal outlines the use of social media to identify teens and young adults socially networking about vaping, the use of an online chatbot screen to evaluate individual cessation support needs, and the use of a digital intervention system to support vaping cessation. The mobile intervention used in this study is based on a widely-used evidence-based mobile intervention for combustible smoking (i.e., quitSTART) and has been adapted for vaping and young adults to include an in-app chatbot to guide users to tailored content and to motivate and encourage their cessation efforts. We aim to integrate our social media recruitment and online screening approach to connect individuals with this mobile app intervention, and will conduct a randomized controlled trial to evaluate user engagement with and preliminary efficacy of the digital intervention on reducing vaping behaviors among teens and young adults.

Enrollment: 189 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 15 to 25 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• US Resident
• English Speaking
• Have daily access to a smartphone
• Current vaping product user (P30D)
• Identified as socially networking about a desire to quit vaping and/or experiencing negative health outcomes due to vaping
• Vaping product user only (i.e., not using vaping as a means to support combustible smoking cessation)

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

---

189 participants in 3 patient groups

Control Group

No Intervention group

Description:

Nationwide resource referral and intervention waitlist

Experimental Group A: Mobile App Intervention

Experimental group

Description:

quitSTART Mobile Application Adapted for Vaping Cessation Among Young Adults

Treatment:

Device: quitSTART Mobile Application

Experimental Group B: Mobile App Intervention with Embedded Chatbot Feature

Experimental group

Description:

quitSTART Mobile Application Adapted for Vaping Cessation Among Young Adults Including Embedded Chatbot Feature

Treatment:

Behavioral: Chatbot Feature in quitSTART Mobile Application

Device: quitSTART Mobile Application