Smoking &Amp; Tobacco Cessation
Conditions
Keywords
mHealth, WhatsApp, smoking cessation, chat-based intervention, Singapore
Brief summary
The goal of this pilot trial is to evaluate the feasibility of a mobile-assisted brief intervention for smoking cessation in community-based individuals in Singapore. Specific aims include: 1. To assess how many eligible individuals accept the invitation to participate in the trial 2. To assess the retention of the participants through 6 months after treatment initiation 3. To assess the acceptability of the intervention in terms of participants' engagement and ratings 4. To examine the intervention effect on abstinence outcomes Participants will be randomly assigned to either the intervention group or control group and followed for 6 months from randomisation.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALBrief cessation advice + self-help booklet
Participants will receive brief cessation advice following the AWARD (ask, warn, advise, refer, do-it-again) model and a 24-page self-help booklet.
BEHAVIORALOpt-out referral
Research personnel will assist the participant in signing up for the I Quit Programme to receive additional cessation support, unless they decline
BEHAVIORALMobile chat messaging
Participants will receive personalised chat-based support delivered by a live counsellor for 3 months via WhatsApp. The message will incorporate behaviour change techniques for smoking cessation and mindfulness principles to strengthen participants' capacity to quit smoking.
Sponsors
National University of Singapore
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
21 Years to 80 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Aged 21 to 80 years * Smoked at least one cigarette daily * Able to communicate and read in English or Chinese * Own a smartphone with WhatsApp installed
Exclusion criteria
* Exposed to any smoking cessation treatment in the past 3 months * Pregnant women
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Biochemically validated smoking abstinence rate | 6 months | Defined as an exhaled carbon monoxide level of \<5 parts per million or a negative salivary cotinine test (cut off 30ng/mL) |
| Recruitment rate | 6 months | Number of participants divided by the number of eligible subjects |
| Retention rate | 6 months | Number of participants completed the follow-up divided by the number of participants |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Self-reported 7-day point-prevalence smoking abstinence rate | 3 months | Being completely smoke-free in the past 7 days |
| Self-reported smoking reduction rate | 3 months | Smoking reduction by at least half of the baseline daily number of cigarettes in individuals who continue to smoke |
| Self-reported quit attempt rate | 3 months | Serious quit attempt that lasted 24 hours or longer |
| Smoking cessation service use rate | 3 months | Use of any smoking cessation service during the follow-up period |
Countries
Singapore
Contacts
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORTzu Tsun Luk, PhD, RN
National University of Singapore
Outcome results
None listed