Take A Break - Rural

NCT ID: NCT05790486

Last Updated: 2025-03-06

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

800 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2023-07-11

Study Completion Date

2026-12-31

Brief Summary

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The study team proposes a multi-level trial to test 1) novel implementation programs in rural counties designed to increase access to 2) recent advances in tobacco control services for people who are not-yet-ready-to-quit smoking. In this field, most trials have focused only on those already ready-to-quit. Thus, the proposed trial addresses an important knowledge gap critical to advance tobacco control in rural areas.

Detailed Description

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The study team will conduct a multi-level "hybrid type 2" study (i.e.: implementation and effectiveness outcomes) to test

1\) a novel implementation program in rural counties and 2) a mHealth (mobile health)-assisted brief abstinence experience (Take a Break, TAB) for rural adults who smoke and are not-yet-ready to quit. In the network of rural counties, the implementation trial will use a novel, multi-strategy implementation program centered on county employees engaged in 'community paramedicine.' Emergency Medical Services personnel (EMS) are evolving into this more expansive role (e.g.: non-emergent healthcare delivery, monitoring of chronic disease, and preventive medicine). To test the implementation, the study team will randomize rural counties with EMS serving geographically complex and ethnically varied areas (the mountainous region of Appalachia and plains of eastern North Carolina). These counties have some of the highest smoking rates in the U.S. The team will compare a well tested (standard) implementation program versus a novel enhanced program. The standard program uses evidence-based external facilitation - providing training and technical support to EMS services to support the integration of enhanced tobacco control practices (including recommending and referring people who smoke and not-yet-ready-to-quit to the mHealth-assisted population health intervention. The novel enhanced implementation program will include the standard program an EMS Champion program. EMS who currently smoke will be offered participation in TAB themselves. Those who participate, Champions, will then use their TAB experience to support implementation as internal facilitators. They will encourage other EMS to experience TAB, longitudinally encourage use of the tobacco control practices in routine workflow for all EMS, and will be able to use their personal experience with TAB to engage in a richer dialog with patients who smoke. Using these strategies, the team seeks to engage individuals living in harder-to-reach rural areas with less access to clinical services.

Engaging these individuals is possible with brief, low intensity, palatable interventions that target self-efficacy and facilitate skills building to support future abstinence. The TAB intervention addresses the challenge of engaging lower motivated individuals using a novel format, a brief abstinence game, supported using mHealth and building upon 10 years of research. The team recently published the first TAB effectiveness trial in Journal of American Medical Association Internal Medicine. This preliminary data supports the current application and does not include a large number of individuals living in rural areas. In this project, the team will randomize to TAB versus an active comparison designed to isolate the effect of TAB and balance the participant contact across the two groups. In addition to evaluating implementation success and effectiveness outcomes, the team will study pathways to cessation. To inform sustainment and dissemination, the team will collect data on implementation fidelity, county-level adaptations, variations in referrals, and patient-level engagement across the counties, and at the EMS and patient-level. To evaluate budget impact, the team will track the cost of the implementation strategies and the intervention

Conditions

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Smoking Smoking Behaviors Smoking Cessation

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

PREVENTION

Blinding Strategy

DOUBLE

Participants Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

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The Intervention: Take a Break plus Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) Sampling

Motivational text messages, challenge quizzes, goal-setting, coping mini-games, and recognition \& rewards. Nicotine lozenges will be given to all participants in both randomized groups.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Take a Break plus Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) Sampling

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Take a Break is an intervention in which smokers are encouraged to engage in smoking abstinence. The main element, the "Break," is a two-week challenge where smokers report days they are smoke-free. The Break is preceded by a 1-week training challenge where Challenge Quizzes (ecological momentary assessments) collect information to guide the smokers during the Break. At baseline, all smokers will be provided NRT lozenges for sampling. At week 1 of the "Marathon", our Tobacco Treatment Specialist will call all smokers, assess their experiences and facilitate an abstinence goal.

The Comparison: Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) Sampling without Take a Break

Nicotine lozenges will be given to all participants in both randomized groups. The goal of the comparison group is to isolate the effect of the Take a Break experience.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

The Comparison

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

The comparison group will receive Nicotine Replacement Therapy sampling and will be balanced in all variables except the Take a Break Intervention.

The Enhanced Program: Community Paramedicine Standard Plus Enhanced Implementation Program

The Enhanced Program will include strategies described in the Standard Program plus training of local champions.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Community Paramedicine Standard Plus Enhanced Implementation Program

Intervention Type OTHER

Counties randomized to the enhanced program will receive the standard implementation program plus the following enhancements. We will engage and train local implementation champions. The EMS Implementation Champion will go through the Take a Break Intervention but will not receive NRT sampling. The local implementation champions are internal facilitators with additional knowledge and experience related to the electronic referral process. The champions will also be leaders in their county by trying to improve referrals, remind EMS personnel, and distribute feedback on the performance of the county.

The Standard Program: Community Paramedicine Standard Implementation Program

The standard program will include training, resources, and access to the e-refer tool.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Community Paramedicine Standard Implementation Program

Intervention Type OTHER

In counties randomized to the standard program, we will engage EMS leaders and train local personnel. The training will be applying the Ask-Advise-Refer model and the use of an eRefer tool in EMS situations and conditions. The EMS will then engage smokers in the field or community to use the Ask-Advise-Refer training to submit electronic referrals with the eRefer tool.

Interventions

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Take a Break plus Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) Sampling

Take a Break is an intervention in which smokers are encouraged to engage in smoking abstinence. The main element, the "Break," is a two-week challenge where smokers report days they are smoke-free. The Break is preceded by a 1-week training challenge where Challenge Quizzes (ecological momentary assessments) collect information to guide the smokers during the Break. At baseline, all smokers will be provided NRT lozenges for sampling. At week 1 of the "Marathon", our Tobacco Treatment Specialist will call all smokers, assess their experiences and facilitate an abstinence goal.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

The Comparison

The comparison group will receive Nicotine Replacement Therapy sampling and will be balanced in all variables except the Take a Break Intervention.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Community Paramedicine Standard Plus Enhanced Implementation Program

Counties randomized to the enhanced program will receive the standard implementation program plus the following enhancements. We will engage and train local implementation champions. The EMS Implementation Champion will go through the Take a Break Intervention but will not receive NRT sampling. The local implementation champions are internal facilitators with additional knowledge and experience related to the electronic referral process. The champions will also be leaders in their county by trying to improve referrals, remind EMS personnel, and distribute feedback on the performance of the county.

Intervention Type OTHER

Community Paramedicine Standard Implementation Program

In counties randomized to the standard program, we will engage EMS leaders and train local personnel. The training will be applying the Ask-Advise-Refer model and the use of an eRefer tool in EMS situations and conditions. The EMS will then engage smokers in the field or community to use the Ask-Advise-Refer training to submit electronic referrals with the eRefer tool.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Current Smoker
* at least 18 years old
* speaks English
* Able to receive texts and read text (literate)
* Have a text-enabled phone or receive one from the study team
* Not yet ready to quit smoking

Exclusion Criteria

* actively quitting smoking
* preparing to quit smoking within 30 days
* prisoners
* FDA- defined NRT contraindications
* unable or unwilling to provide informed consent
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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National Cancer Institute (NCI)

NIH

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Massachusetts, Worcester

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Wake Forest University Health Sciences

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Thomas K Houston, MD, MPH

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Wake Forest University Health Sciences

Rajani Sadasivam, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

UMass Chan Medical School

Locations

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Wake Forest University Health Sciences

Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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United States

Central Contacts

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Anna M Thorpe

Role: CONTACT

336-716-3028

Erica Hale, MS

Role: CONTACT

336-716-2236

Facility Contacts

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Anna M Thorpe

Role: primary

336-716-3028

Other Identifiers

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1R01CA268041-01A1

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

IRB00087067

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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