N/A
N=136
Relapse Prevention Through Social Networking Groups
Smoking
Bottom Line
View on ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02007369 ↗Enrolled (actual)
136
Serious AEs
0.0%
Results posted
Nov 2016
Primary outcome: Primary: Self Reported Relapse Rate at 2 Months — 3; 10; 13 participants — p=0.033
Study Design & Population
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- N/A
- Interventions
- WhatsApp (Behavioral); Facebook (Behavioral)
- Age
- Adult, Older Adult · 18+ yrs
- Sex
- All
- Sponsor
- The University of Hong Kong
- Primary completion
- Sep 2014
Outcome Measures
| Outcome | Result | p-value |
|---|---|---|
| PRIMARY Self Reported Relapse Rate at 2 Months |
3; 10; 13 | 0.033 sig |
| PRIMARY Self Reported Relapse Rate at 6 Months |
11; 13; 20 | 0.285 |
| SECONDARY Point Prevalence of Self Reported Abstinence for the Previous 7 Days at 2 Months |
36; 28; 30 | 0.002 sig |
| SECONDARY Point Prevalence of Self Reported Abstinence for the Previous 7 Days at 6 Months |
27; 19; 21 | 0.023 sig |
Summary
According to the Census & Statistics Department, there are still 659,300 daily smokers (11.1%) in Hong Kong. Smoking is addictive, and it is difficult for some motivated smokers to quit without assistance. About 33.2% daily smokers in Hong Kong had tried quitting but they could not maintain abstinence. Relapse prevention is aimed at providing interventions to prevent relapse after starting the abstinence status. This pilot single-blind randomized controlled trial (proof of concept study) will test the effectiveness of social networking services for relapse prevention. The study will first recruit 6 quitters and 6 relapsers for a qualitative interview for the design of intervention. Then, the pilot-RCT trial will recruit 120 participants who have recently quitted smoking, and they will be randomly allocated to 2 intervention groups and one control group. The 2 intervention groups will be arranged to join a WhatsApp or Facebook group for receiving quitting advices from the group moderators and sharing quitting experience with other participants. All participants will receive a self-help booklet of relapse prevention, and will be followed up at 6 weeks, 3 months and 6 months. The primary outcome is the self-report relapse rate (Relapse is tentatively defined as smoking 5 cigarettes in 3 consecutive days since joining the RCT among the 3 study arms.
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- Smoked at least 1 cigarette a day when first joined ICSC
- Aged 18 or above at the baseline of the RCT
- Clients who have received 3 to 5 smoking cessation counseling provided by ICSC
- Reported tobacco abstinence in the past 7 days at the 8-week follow-up since receiving treatment from ICSC
- Able to communicate in Cantonese and read Chinese
- Have a local network mobile phone with mobile internet access
Exclusion Criteria
- Those with unstable physical or psychological conditions as advised by the doctor or counselor in charge
- Smokers with diagnosed alcohol dependence by clinicians or the score of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) is 8 or higher
Data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02007369). Outcome figures and adverse-event rates are extracted automatically from the registry's posted results and are provided for clinician reference, not as a substitute for the primary publication.