Abstract
BackgroundMobile health (mHealth) interventions, using text messages to support high-school pupils to quit smoking, could be a novel and cost-effective approach. However, more research is needed, specifically to investigate long-term effectiveness. The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a newly developed mHealth intervention targeting smoking cessation among high-school pupils.MethodsThe study is a two-arm, randomized controlled trial with an intervention group (mHealth intervention) and a control group (treatment as usual: national smoking cessation help line). Outcome measures will be investigated at baseline and at 3, 6, and 12 months’ follow-up. Primary outcome measures will be: prolonged abstinence and 4-week point prevalence of smoking abstinence. Secondary outcome measures will be: 7-day point prevalence of smoking abstinence; mean number of quit attempts since taking part in the study; number of uses of other smoking cessation services since first invitation to the study and number of cigarettes smoked weekly if still smoking.DiscussionHigh schools in Sweden are bound by law to offer a smoke-free environment. However, little effort has been made to offer support to pupils who wish to quit smoking; rather the emphasis is on prevention of uptake. The study will examine the effectiveness of a stand-alone mHealth intervention targeting smokers among high-school pupils.Trial registrationThe trial was not retrospectively registered and has been registered at ISRCTN with the unique identification number ISRCTN15396225. The trial was registered on 13 October 2017.
Highlights
Mobile health interventions, using text messages to support high-school pupils to quit smoking, could be a novel and cost-effective approach
The binary outcomes of self-reported prolonged abstinence, 4-week prevalence of complete smoking cessation, and 7-day point prevalence of smoking abstinence will be analyzed by logistic regression and the results presented as odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs)
Number of quit attempts and number of uses of other smoking cessation services will be analyzed by negative binomial regression and the results presented as ratios of means
Summary
Design The study is a two-arm RCT with an intervention group (mHealth smoking cessation program) and a control group (treatment as usual: national smoking cessation help line). Follow-up questionnaire The follow-up questionnaire will include seven questions investigating the primary and secondary outcomes: (1) prolonged abstinence (not smoked more than five cigarettes in the last 8 weeks at the 3-month follow-up; 5 months at the 6-month follow-up; and 11 months at the 12-month follow-up), (2) 4-week point prevalence of smoking abstinence, (3) 7-day point prevalence of smoking abstinence, (4) numbers of cigarettes smoked weekly if still smoking, (5) mean number of quit attempts since taking part in the study, (6) number of uses of other smoking cessation services since first invitation to the study, e.g., calling help line, and (7) frequency of using snuff. All tests will be performed two-sided with a 5% level of significance
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