BE Smokefree: Behavioral Economics Incentives to Engage Adolescents in Smoking Cessation

Summary

More than 90% of adult smokers initiate tobacco use before age 18, making prevention and treatment of adolescent smoking a critical health priority. Behavioral economic interventions utilizing financial incentives can promote smoking cessation in adult populations. No studies have evaluated financial incentives among adolescents to promote engagement in effective tobacco cessation programs through primary care settings. The goal of this study is to to compare, through a pilot, randomized controlled trial, an intervention incentivizing contact with a tobacco cessation program (the Quitline), an intervention incentivizing quitting, or no financial incentive intervention on adolescent smoker enrollment and depth of engagement in the tobacco cessation program.

Conditions

• Smoking Cessation

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Quitline Incentive

The incentive structure emphasizes engaging with the quitline, with an additional smaller payment for tobacco cessation. Each adolescent can receive compensation for enrolling in the quitline, for maintaining involvement in the quitline program (compensation per call for up to 5 calls), and, for those reporting abstinence, for submitting the cotinine swab and for confirmed quitting (negative cotinine swab).

BEHAVIORAL

Tobacco Cessation Incentive

The incentive payment structure emphasizes quitting regardless of engagement with the quitline (though the quitline will be presented as a helpful tool). Each adolescent will receive compensation for enrolling in the Quitline and, for those reporting abstinence, for submitting the cotinine swab and for confirmed quitting (negative cotinine swab).

BEHAVIORAL

Way to Health (WTH) Platform

The WTH platform is a web-based platform that sends reminder text messages to participants regarding study procedures and has has secure financial tracking and processing systems to manage participant payments, including the ability to track earnings and pay participants via a non-integrated payment system.

BEHAVIORAL

Quitline Delivered Treatment

The quitline provides tobacco cessation treatment to individuals who enroll in treatment. This treatment includes 5 proactive counseling calls, each designed to help develop problem-solving and coping skills, secure social support, and plan for long-term abstinence. Participants can also call an 800 telephone number as needed for additional support between proactive calls.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Pennsylvania

  collaborator OTHER

• National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)

  collaborator NIH

• Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Brian Jenssen, MD · Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

14 Years

Max Age

21 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2018-09-21

Primary Completion

2021-03-19

Completion

2021-03-19

Countries

• United States

Study Locations