Smoking Cessation Programme in Workplaces in Hong Kong (Phase ⅤII)

NCT06932718 | Recruiting DMC

• 1 other identifier: LST SCPW P7
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 328
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Smoking cessation (SC) interventions using behavioral economics mainly focus on financial incentives, which were used to change health behaviors by utilizing a reward system to enhance long-term maintenance. Incentives have been demonstrated to enhance SC across various populations with moderate effects. Interventions for smoking cessation characterized by financial incentives focus primarily on the potential for monetary gain rather than loss. Changing the motivational strategy to combine disclosing losses with providing financial incentives may increase the effectiveness of financial consequence-based smoking cessation interventions. Thus, this study aims to test, by a 2-arm RCT, the effectiveness of an intervention of which includes mobile phone-based intervention combined with small incentive and smoking cessation in workplaces in Hong Kong; identify facilitators and barriers of successful policy implementation and quitting; examine and evaluate the company environment and their policies in promoting smoking cessation.

Conditions

Smoking Cessation

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Biochemical validation of smoking status

  Biochemical validated abstinence (exhaled CO level \<4 ppm or a positive salivary cotinine test)

  6-month

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Self-reported 7-day point prevalence quit rate

  1-, 3- and 12-month

• Biochemical validation of smoking status

  12-month

• Self-reported reduction cigarette rate

  1-, 3-, 6- and 12-month

• Self-reported use of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT)

  1-, 3-, 6- and 12-month

Study Arms (2)

Intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

Personalized chat-based support and nicotine replacement therapy sampling (NRT-S) for continued smokers at 6 months for intervention group

Behavioral: General health talk; Behavioral: Personalized chat-based interactions; Behavioral: Phone follow-up/counselling service; Drug: Mailed nicotine replacement therapy (NRT); Other: Small incentive

Control

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

Regular text-based support and nicotine replacement therapy sampling (NRT-S) for continued smokers at 6 months for control group

Behavioral: General health talk; Behavioral: Phone follow-up/counselling service; Drug: Mailed nicotine replacement therapy (NRT); Behavioral: Text message

Interventions

General health talk BEHAVIORAL

Health talk provided information about hazards of tobacco (active smoking, second- and third-hand smoke), benefits of quitting smoking and methods to quit smoking.

Control; Intervention

Personalized chat-based interactions BEHAVIORAL

Individual chat-based interactions for 3 months consist of 2 parts. The first part includes regular messages via instant messages (IM). These messages will serve as probes for real-time chat-based support in which more details explanations and motivation to encourage quitting due to financial reasons. The second part includes real-time psycho-behavioral intervention delivered by trained cessation counsellors using health economic principles on behavioral change to motivate smokers to quit. The conversation is based on participants' socio-demographic characteristics, smoking habit at baseline, and updated smoking status and mental health status assessed during online conversation and the baseline questionnaire.

Intervention

Phone follow-up/counselling service BEHAVIORAL

The intervention outcomes and participants' smoking status will be followed up regularly via telephone interviews (15 - 30 minutes).

Control; Intervention

Mailed nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) DRUG

Full course of NRT treatment (10 weeks) will be provided to all participants who are still smoking at 6-month follow-up and request, or willing to use NRT after advice from counsellors. Medications will be mailed from the smoking cessation clinics.

Control; Intervention

Text message BEHAVIORAL

Regular messages will be sent twice per month within 3 months. These messages covers simple cessation advice and reminders for follow-ups.

Control

Small incentive OTHER

Positive incentive was reported to be effective in reducing smoking. Participants in the intervention group will receive HK$ 100 at 3-month follow-up. HK$ 500 will be provided to successful quitters confirmed by biochemical validation at 6 months. A total of HK$ 600 maximum will be rewarded to the participants. The amount of the incentive is comparable to other community events on smoking cessation in Hong Kong. Of note, all smokers who reported quitting, completed and passed the biochemical validation of quitting had been offered HK$ 500 in the past rounds and will also be adopted in this round.

Intervention

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Hong Kong residents aged 18 or above
• Current smoking cigarettes or alternative tobacco products daily with an exhaled carbon monoxide level ≥4 ppm or a positive salivary cotinine test
• Able to communicate in Cantonese/Mandarin and read Chinese
• Able to use instant messaging tool (e.g. WhatsApp) for communication.
• Stay in Hong Kong during the intervention and follow-up periods (12 months)

You may not qualify if:

• Smokers who are psychologically or physically unable to communicate
• Currently following other SC program(s)
• Having used NRT for the past month
• Having severe angina, serious cardiac arrhythmias and hypertension
• Have acute myocardial event in the past month
• Being pregnant or providing breastfeeding

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The University of Hong Kong: lead
• Lok Sin Tong Benevolent Society, Kowloon: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

School of Nursing, The University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Smoking Cessation

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Health Behavior; Behavior

Study Officials

• Man Ping Wang

  The University of Hong Kong

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Man Ping Wang

CONTACT

85239176636; mpwang@hku.hk

Yilan Wu

CONTACT

85256497578; visspalan@connect.hku.hk

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 10, 2025
• First Posted: April 17, 2025
• Study Start: March 18, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 20, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): April 30, 2027
• Last Updated: April 17, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

HK (1)