WeChat Quit Coach Pilot Study

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.

Conditions

• Smoking Cessation

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

WeChat Quit Coach

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.

BEHAVIORAL

Leaflet

Participants in the control group will receive a leaflet with information about existing smoking cessation programs targeting Chinese American smokers.

DRUG

Optional Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) Patches or Lozenges

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.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Asian Americans for Equality

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Chinese American Planning Council

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)

  collaborator NIH

• NYU Langone Health

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Nan Jiang, PhD · NYU Langone Health

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

OTHER

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

80 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2022-02-10

Primary Completion

2025-01-15

Completion

2025-01-15

Countries

• United States

Study Locations