A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of Financial Incentives, Text Messaging, and Usual Care for Homeless Smokers

Summary

The QUIT (Quitting with Usual Care, Incentives, and Technology) Smoking Study is a 3-arm pilot randomized controlled trial that will test the effect of 2 different experimental smoking cessation interventions relative to a control condition in homeless cigarette smokers. All participants will receive free transdermal nicotine patches and weekly in-person smoking cessation counseling. In addition, participants randomized to the first experimental condition will receive financial rewards for biochemically-verified smoking abstinence, and participants randomized to the second experimental condition will be enrolled in a text messaging program to support smoking abstinence.

Conditions

• Smoking

Interventions

DRUG

Transdermal nicotine patch

* ≥10 cigarettes per day: nicotine 21mg/24hr patch daily x 6 weeks, then nicotine 14mg/24hr patch daily x 2 weeks * \<10 cigarettes per day: nicotine 14mg/24hr patch daily x 8 weeks

BEHAVIORAL

In-person smoking cessation counseling

\- One-on-one 15-minute counseling sessions once per week for 8 weeks

BEHAVIORAL

Contingent financial rewards for smoking abstinence

\- Escalating-value financial rewards for smoking abstinence, verified by exhaled carbon monoxide \<8ppm

BEHAVIORAL

Text messages to support smoking abstinence

\- 1-5 text messages per day starting up to 2 weeks before the quit date and continuing until 6 weeks after the quit date, delivered by SmokefreeTXT

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

  collaborator NIH

• Massachusetts General Hospital

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Travis P Baggett, MD, MPH · Massachusetts General Hospital

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2015-10-31

Primary Completion

2016-06-30

Completion

2016-08-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations