WeChat Quit Coach Pilot Study
Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Effectiveness of a WeChat Quit Coach Smoking Cessation Intervention: A Pilot, Open-labeled, Randomized Controlled Trial Among Chinese Immigrant Smokers
2 other identifiers
interventional
150
1 country
1
Brief Summary
The study team will develop and assess the feasibility and acceptability of a WeChat-based peer-group mobile messaging smoking cessation intervention targeting Chinese immigrant smokers in New York City (NYC). For Aim 1, the study team will develop a message library for the WeChat Quit Coach smoking cessation program and conduct in-depth interviews with 20 Chinese immigrant smokers in person to assess content relevance. For Aim 2, a two-arm, open-labeled, pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be conducted to test the feasibility and acceptability of the WeChat Quit Coach intervention among 60 Chinese immigrant smokers. Participants will be randomized to intervention (n=40) or control group (n=20). Participants in the intervention group will receive a 6-week WeChat Quit Coach intervention through WeChat private group. Participants in the control group will receive a leaflet with information about existing smoking cessation programs that focus on Chinese American smokers. All the 60 participants will be offered a 4-week supple of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) patches and/or lozenges. Participants will complete a baseline in-person survey at enrollment, a 6-week follow-up phone survey immediately after the intervention, and a 6-month follow-up phone survey. Biochemical test (exhaled carbon monoxide test) will be conducted to confirm abstinence among those who report no smoking in past 7-day at 6-week and 6-month follow-up surveys. Post-test in-depth interviews will be conducted with at least 20 participants in person from the intervention group at 6-week follow-up to obtain more information about the usability and perceptions about the WeChat Quit Coach program. For Aim 3, the investigators will conduct an open-labeled, 3-arm pilot RCT to test the preliminary effectiveness of the WeChat Quit Coach intervention with 90 Chinese immigrant smokers. Participants will be randomized to one of the three groups, including a 6-week intervention group A (IA; n = 30), a 12-week intervention group B (IB; n = 30), and a control group (n = 30). Participants in the intervention groups will either receive a 6-week (IA) or 12-week (IB) WeChat Quit Coach intervention through WeChat private groups. Participants in the control group will receive a leaflet with information of existing smoking cessation programs targeting Chinese American smokers. All 90 participants will be offered a 4-week free supply of NRT patches and/or lozenges. Participants will complete a baseline phone survey at enrollment, 12-week and 6-month follow-up phone surveys. A remote biochemical validation (saliva cotinine test) will be conducted at 12-week and 6-month follow-up to confirm smoking abstinence among those who self-report no smoking in the past 7 days. Post-test in-depth phone interviews will be conducted with up to 30 intervention participants to obtain more information about their perceptions and experience with the WeChat Quit Coach program.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P75+ for not_applicable
Started Feb 2022
Typical duration for not_applicable
1 active site
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
First Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
November 11, 2021
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
November 23, 2021
CompletedStudy Start
First participant enrolled
February 10, 2022
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
January 15, 2025
CompletedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
January 15, 2025
CompletedApril 9, 2025
April 1, 2025
2.9 years
November 11, 2021
April 8, 2025
Conditions
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (4)
Number of Participants Who Respond to Daily Text Questions
Measure of engagement. Measured among Aim 2 participants only.
Up to Week 6 Follow-Up
Number of Participants Who Ask Self-Composed Questions
Measure of engagement. Measured among Aim 2 participants only.
Up to Week 6 Follow-Up
WeChat Program Participant Satisfaction Score
A 5-point Likert scale will be used to report satisfaction. The total range in score is 1-5; the higher the score, the higher the satisfaction. Measured among Aim 2 participants only.
Up to Week 6 Follow-Up
Self-Reported 7-Day Point Prevalence Abstinence Rate at Month 6
Participants are asked whether they smoked cigarettes in the past 7 days. Measured among Aim 3 participants only.
Month 6 Follow-Up
Secondary Outcomes (23)
Number of Quit Attempts at Week 6
Week 6 Follow-Up
Number of Quit Attempts at Week 12
Week 12 Follow-Up
Number of Quit Attempts at Month 6
Month 6 Follow-Up
Average Daily Cigarette Consumption at Week 6
Week 6 Follow-Up
Average Daily Cigarette Consumption at Week 12
Week 12 Follow-Up
- +18 more secondary outcomes
Study Arms (3)
Intervention Group A
EXPERIMENTALParticipants will be assigned to a 6-week intervention period.
Intervention Group B
EXPERIMENTALParticipants will be assigned to a 12-week intervention period.
Control Group
ACTIVE COMPARATORInterventions
WeChat Quit Coach intervention will be delivered via WeChat private groups for 6-12 weeks (\<30 seconds per day). During the intervention period, participants will receive a text message at a fixed point of time every day (e.g., 8:00 am). The messages are designed to build motivations and skillset to quit smoking. Participants will also receive a daily group discussion question (e.g., "If you are to give one piece of advice to someone who has not made the decision to quit smoking, what would you say to his/her?"), and be encouraged to respond to the question. Participants can comment on group members' responses and ask questions related to smoking and quitting either in group (so everyone in the group can see the message) or directly to the coach (so only the coach can see the message). The coach will respond to the questions within 24 hours. The PI and the RA will moderate group discussions.
Participants in the control group will receive a leaflet with information about existing smoking cessation programs targeting Chinese American smokers.
Participants in both groups will be offered a 4-week supply of NRT patches and lozenges but not forced to use the medications. The medications are free to participants. If participants want to try or use the medications, the study team will mail the patches and lozenges (with a Chinese version of the instruction) or deliver in person.
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Aim 2:
- Age 18-80 years
- Chinese immigrant
- Have smoked at least 100 cigarettes in a lifetime
- Smoke ≥3 days per week
- Be somewhat interested in quitting smoking
- Has a Smartphone
- Current WeChat user who uses WeChat on ≥3 days per week
- Live in NYC
- Can read and speak Chinese
- Be able to provide consent
- Aim 3:
- Age 18 years or above
- Chinese immigrant
- Have smoked at least 100 cigarettes in a lifetime
- +3 more criteria
You may not qualify if:
- Aim 2:
- Current participation in other smoking cessation treatment program(s)
- Be pregnant or breastfeeding
- Aim 3:
- Current participation in other smoking cessation treatment program(s)
- Be pregnant or breastfeeding
- Having a household member who has enrolled in this study
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
- NYU Langone Healthlead
- Asian Americans for Equalitycollaborator
- Chinese American Planning Councilcollaborator
- National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)collaborator
Study Sites (1)
NYU Langone Health
New York, New York, 10016, United States
Related Publications (1)
Jiang N, Zhao A, Rogers ES, Cupertino AP, Zhao X, Cartujano-Barrera F, Siu K, Sherman SE. Feasibility and Preliminary Effects of a Social Media-Based Peer-Group Mobile Messaging Smoking Cessation Intervention Among Chinese Immigrants who Smoke: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2024 Jul 22;12:e59496. doi: 10.2196/59496.
PMID: 39037756DERIVED
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Interventions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Nan Jiang, PhD
NYU Langone Health
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- NONE
- Purpose
- OTHER
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- SPONSOR
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
November 11, 2021
First Posted
November 23, 2021
Study Start
February 10, 2022
Primary Completion
January 15, 2025
Study Completion
January 15, 2025
Last Updated
April 9, 2025
Record last verified: 2025-04
Data Sharing
- IPD Sharing
- Will share
- Shared Documents
- STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP
- Time Frame
- Beginning 9 months and ending 36 months following article publication or as required by a condition of awards and agreements supporting the research.
- Access Criteria
- The investigator who proposed to use the data will have access to the data upon reasonable request. Requests should be directed to Nan.Jiang@nyulangone.org. To gain access, data requestors will need to sign a data access agreement.
Individual participant data that underlie the results reported in this article, after deidentification (text, tables, figures, and appendices) will be shared upon reasonable request.