Gen AI Powered Behavioral Support Plus Chewing Gum Intervention for Construction Workers Who Smoke: A Pragmatic, Pilot, Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial
Build to Quit 「築建無煙」: Gen AI Powered Behavioral Support Plus Chewing Gum Intervention for Construction Workers Who Smoke: A Pragmatic, Pilot, Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial
1 other identifier
interventional
200
1 country
1
Brief Summary
The goal of this pilot trial is to learn if 1-week NRT sampling, 3-week chewing gum, and 12-week chatbot-delivered instant messaging support works to help smoking cessation in construction workers who smoke. It will also learn about the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of delivering the comprehensive intervention in construction settings. The main questions it aims to answer are:
- 1.Will the integrated intervention, comprising NRT sampling, chewing gum, and chatbot-delivered instant messaging support, show feasibility, acceptability, and appropriateness for delivery in construction worksite settings?
- 2.Will participants who receive the comprehensive intervention have a higher validated abstinence rate than those who receive NRT sampling alone?
- 3.AWARD advice and brief video
- 4.1-week NRT sampling
- 5.3-week chewing gum
- 6.12-week chatbot-based instant messaging support (via WhatsApp)
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P75+ for not_applicable
Started Jun 2026
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
June 9, 2026
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
June 15, 2026
CompletedStudy Start
First participant enrolled
June 20, 2026
ExpectedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
May 31, 2027
Study Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
June 30, 2027
June 15, 2026
June 1, 2026
12 months
June 9, 2026
June 9, 2026
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
Biochemically validated abstinence
Defined as exhaled CO level \<4ppm and saliva cotinine level ≤30 ng/ml
6-month follow-up
Secondary Outcomes (6)
Biochemically validated abstinence
3-month follow-up
Self-reported 7-day point prevalence abstinence
3- and 6-month follow-ups
Self-reported reduction
1-, 2-, 3- and 6-month follow-ups
Self-reported use of smoking cessation service
1-, 2-, 3- and 6-month follow-ups
Family well-being
3- and 6-month follow-ups
- +1 more secondary outcomes
Other Outcomes (6)
Recruitment rate
Baseline
Retention rate
1-, 2-, 3- and 6-month follow-ups
Chatbot usability
3-month follow-up
- +3 more other outcomes
Study Arms (2)
Intervention group
EXPERIMENTALControl group
ACTIVE COMPARATORInterventions
AWARD advice include Ask about smoking history, Warn about the high risk, Advise to quit, Refer smokers to smoking cessation services (with a referral card), and Do it again.
The contents of the leaflet include (1) highlights of the absolute risk of death due to smoking; (2) the whole list of diseases caused by active and secondhand smoking; (3) ten horrible pictorial warnings of health consequences of smoking and second-hand smoking in one page to maximize the impacts; (4) benefits of SC and (5) simple messages to encourage participants to quit smoking.
The contents consist of brief information and a highlight of existing smoking cessation services, contact methods, motivation information and strong supporting messages or slogans.
The contents include information about the benefits of quitting, smoking and diseases, methods to quit, how to handle withdrawal symptoms, declaration of quitting, etc.
Participants in both group will receive a 1-week supply of free nicotine gum (2 mg or 4 mg). The dosage of nicotine gum will be guided by participants' daily cigarette consumption, in accordance with recommendations from the Department of Health. Research assistants will explain the benefits of NRT for smoking cessation, provide instructions on the correct use of nicotine gum, encourage participants to continue using nicotine gum after completing the free sample where appropriate, and advise participants to reduce smoking or make a quit attempt when using NRT.
Participants in the intervention group will receive 6 packs of chewing gum at baseline (2 packs per week). Chewing gum will be presented as a practical strategy to replace the hand-to-mouth and oral routines associated with smoking, particularly during work breaks, after meals, in other smoking-related situations at construction sites, or when participants are unwilling to use nicotine gum.
Participants in the intervention group will receive 12 weeks of instant messaging support delivered by the LLM-based chatbot accessible via WhatsApp platform. The chatbot, powered by Claude model (or more advanced model available) using prompt-engineering and agent-based techniques, will deliver theory-based and structured intervention alongside freeform, on-demand support. The structured intervention session deploys the 5As model (Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, and Arrange follow-up) and 5Rs model (Relevance, Risks, Rewards, Roadblocks, Repetition), as used in our previous telephone-counselling trials and recommended by WHO for brief SC intervention.
Participants in both groups will receive a brief motivational video (15-second) via WhatsApp. The video will feature a construction worker who successfully quit smoking in our previous trial, providing a relatable peer role model for participants. The video will welcome participants to the programme, encourage them to make a quit attempt, and promote early use of nicotine gum as a practical strategy for managing cravings and supporting smoking cessation.
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Hong Kong residents aged 18 or above
- Smoke at least one cigarette per day in the preceding 3-month
- Able to communicate in Cantonese (including reading and writing Chinese)
- Saliva cotinine 30 ng/ml or above
- Intent to quit / reduce smoking
- Have instant messaging tool (WhatsApp) installed
- Able to use instant messaging tool (e.g., WhatsApp) for communication.
You may not qualify if:
- Smokers who are participating in other smoking cessation programmes
- Smokers who are using any smoking cessation medication
- Smokers who are presenting with the following oral diseases, including recent oral surgery or tooth extraction, unstable dentures, significant tooth mobility or advanced periodontal disease, temporomandibular pain or dysfunction, or painful oral mucosal lesions
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
Study Sites (1)
Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health (COSH)
Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 999077, Hong Kong
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Interventions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Man Ping Wang, PhD
The University of Hong Kong
Central Study Contacts
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- SINGLE
- Who Masked
- OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
- Purpose
- HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
- PI Title
- Professor
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
June 9, 2026
First Posted
June 15, 2026
Study Start (Estimated)
June 20, 2026
Primary Completion (Estimated)
May 31, 2027
Study Completion (Estimated)
June 30, 2027
Last Updated
June 15, 2026
Record last verified: 2026-06
Data Sharing
- IPD Sharing
- Will not share