'WeChat WeQuit' Smoking Cessation Program

Zhejiang University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Cigarette Smoking; Smoking Cessation

Treatments: Behavioral: Cognitive and Behavioral Intervention

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03169686

2017S015

Details and patient eligibility

About

This proposed project is to assess whether WeChat-based smoking cessation interventions ('WeChat WeQuit' program) will be effective at helping people in China who smoke, to quit.

Enrollment: 2,000 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. Daily Chinese cigarette smokers.
2. 18 years of age and older living.
3. Being able to read and write in Chinese.
4. Owning a smartphone and knowing how to use WeChat.
5. Willing to make an attempt to quit smoking in the next month.
6. Willing to provide informed consent to participate in the study.

Exclusion criteria

1. Nonsmokers.
2. Smokers without attempt to quit.
3. Below 18 years old.
4. Unable to use smartphone and WeChat.
5. Unable to read and write in Chinese.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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2,000 participants in 2 patient groups

Intervention Group

Experimental group

Description:

Participants in the intervention group will receive the 'WeChat WeQuit' program from the WeChat subscription account. The period for intervention was 14 weeks, including 2-week quiting preparation intervention and 12-week postquit intervention. The number of messages/pictures/audios received by participants will gradually decrease (will be intensively sent to them during 2-week prequit and 4-week postquit, and less intensively during 5-week to 12-week postquit), and follow-up questionnaires were sent only once a month in 14-28 weeks (week 16, 20, and 26 after the quit date). A WeChat group was created for answering questions from participants, and sharing the latest resources related to quitting smoking, and promoting communication between participants.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Cognitive and Behavioral Intervention

Control Group

No Intervention group

Description:

Control group participants will not receive any smoking cessation messages by professional team. They will receive messages of thanking them for being in the study and reminding them of the time until their free month at the end of follow up. In order to measure the main two outcomes (self-reported continuous smoking abstinence and point prevalence of abstinence), continuous smoking abstinence, point prevalence of abstinence, how many cigarettes per day during the last week if they are still smoking will be checked at week 1, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20 and 26 points.