Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Sep 26, 2022
Date Accepted: Dec 27, 2022
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Supporting youth vaping cessation with the ‘Crush the Crave’ smartphone app: protocol for a randomized controlled trial
ABSTRACT
Background:
Use of e-cigarettes, or vaping, has increased exponentially in the past decade, particularly among youth. Emerging evidence suggests growing nicotine dependence among youth, revealing historically higher rates of dependence among current users, compared to rates seen in earlier research. Despite the urgent need for youth vaping cessation interventions, there is limited knowledge about the process of vaping cessation and few evidence-based interventions available to young people seeking support. A notable literature review on vaping cessation resources for young people recommended technology-based interventions, such as smartphone apps and text messaging services, as a promising area of vaping cessation research and intervention development.
Objective:
To determine the effectiveness of the Crush the Crave app in supporting vaping cessation among youth recruited to the intervention arm, compared with an assessment-only control group
Methods:
This is a two-arm, single blind parallel randomized controlled trial conducted over 12 months. Study invitations to 600 youth (16-18 years old) and young adult (19-29 years old) e-cigarette users will be randomized between an intervention arm who will be using Crush the Crave (n=300) and an assessment-only control arm (n=300) in a 1:1 ratio. The primary hypothesis is that participants in the intervention group using Crush the Crave will be more likely to be abstinent at the 6-month follow-up point.
Results:
Study recruitment began on March 4, 2022. Recruitment is anticipated to be completed in December 2022. As of September 2022, 70% (n=211) of individuals who received a randomized invitation have agreed to participate in the trial.
Conclusions:
This protocol describes one of the first-ever RCT studies to evaluate the effectiveness of an app-based intervention for supporting vaping cessation among youth aged 16-18 years and young adults aged 19-29 years. Findings from this trial will help increase our understanding of the process of vaping cessation among youth and provide evidence on the effectiveness of an app-based intervention in helping young people quit vaping. Trial results will also have implications in the development of current and future approach to youth vaping cessation. Clinical Trial: Sanchez, S., & Deck, A. (2022, June 17). Supporting youth vaping cessation with the 'Crush the Crave' smartphone app intervention. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/HMD87
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