Smoking Cessation
Conditions
Keywords
virtual humans, smoking cessation, youth, digital intervention, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Brief summary
Smoking remains a global concern, especially for youth where developmentally-suited smoking cessation programs are lacking and especially among those not presenting for treatment on their own. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of an avatar-led digitalized smoking cessation intervention (Flexiquit) based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for young adult smokers at all levels of motivation to quit.
Detailed description
Cigarette smoking is associated with various health problems, particularly certain forms of cancer and early death (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1997). More recently, smoking has become a global problem among youth and it is imperative that research puts an emphasis on prevention and intervention particularly in this age group (World Health Organization, 2009). Over the past few years, research has shown that internet-based interventions are more cost effective, cater to individuals who are unable/unwilling to attend weekly treatment sessions with a therapist, and are promising in terms of improving attrition rates, a major problem with most treatment trials. Moreover, internet-based interventions use technology often utilized to attract youth (interactive games, animation, video clips etc.) and thus may reach and engage a wider range of individuals than traditional face-to-face interventions. ACT is an empirically-based intervention that uses acceptance and mindfulness strategies and has been shown to increase psychological flexibility. The aim of the present study is to investigate the usefulness and effectiveness of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) internet-based smoking cessation intervention program for college, high school and vocational school student smokers. Findings are expected to show that a digitalized program designed to engage youth in smoking cessation can result in quitting smoking and has a high applicability potential especially among the hard-to-reach population of youth.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALFlexiquit
Digital avatar-led Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for smoking cessation
Sponsors
University of Cyprus
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Masking description
No masking was carried out
Intervention model description
Comparison between flexiquit and a wait-list control group
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
15 Years to 30 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Regular smoker (at least 1 cigarette per day) * Parental consent for those under 18years of age
Exclusion criteria
* Currently enrolled in another smoking cessation program
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Quit rate | Post-intervention (following completion of digital session 5) and follow-up (3 months and 6 months after post-intervention) | Change in Smoking quit status at each assessment point |
| Change in Number of cigarettes | Post-intervention (following completion of digital session 5) and follow-up (3 months and 6 months after post-intervention) | Change in the number of cigarettes smoked per day |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Nicotine Dependence | Post-intervention (following completion of digital session 5) and follow-up (3 months and 6 months after post-intervention) | Change in the Fagerstrom Test of Nicotine Dependence scores |
| Change in Readiness to quit | Post-intervention (following completion of digital session 5) and follow-up (3 months and 6 months after post-intervention) | Change in the Contemplation Ladder assessing stages of change |
| Change in self-efficacy to not smoke in specific situations | Post-intervention (following completion of digital session 5) and follow-up (3 months and 6 months after post-intervention) | Change in Smoking Self-Efficacy Questionnaire scores |
Countries
Cyprus
Contacts
Primary ContactMaria Karekla, PhD
Outcome results
None listed