Testing the Integrated mHealth App Intervention "SiS-H"

NCT ID: NCT05886621

Last Updated: 2025-10-28

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 66 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2023-11-07
• Study Completion Date: 2025-07-07

Brief Summary

The present study is a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) that seeks to test the feasibility, acceptability, process outcomes, and exploratory outcomes of a newly integrated, app-based smoking cessation treatment (SiS-H, which stands for "Smiling instead of Smoking for people with HIV") for people with HIV who smoke. This treatment will be compared to onboarding to the National Cancer Institute's smartphone app "QuitGuide" (QG). Persons with HIV who smoke and are engaged in HIV clinical care (n=64) will be randomized (1:1) to smoking cessation support via SiS-H vs. "QuitGuide".

Detailed Description

The team recently developed an mHealth intervention that integrates (1) the "Smiling instead of Smoking" (SiS) app, a conceptually-grounded, iteratively developed smoking cessation smartphone app, (2) a successful face-to-face smoking cessation treatment for smokers with HIV, called QUIT, and (3) Life Steps, an efficacious brief intervention to promote adaptive engagement in HIV care. The new integrated treatment emphasizes protecting the experience of positive emotions among smokers with HIV as they navigate the process of quitting smoking and supports smoking self-efficacy by engaging participants in app-based activities. Guidance and support for engaging with the app are provided through two face-to-face sessions.

The present study is a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) that seeks to test the feasibility, acceptability, process outcomes and exploratory outcomes of this new treatment, called SiS-H, compared to onboarding to the National Cancer Institute's smartphone app "QuitGuide" (QG). Smokers with HIV engaged in HIV clinical care (n=64) will be randomized (1:1) to smoking cessation support via SiS-H vs. the National Cancer Institute's smartphone app "QuitGuide" (QG).

Smoking cessation support will last 8 weeks and will consist of face-to-face interactions with study staff about navigating their assigned smoking cessation app and brief smoking cessation information. Participants will be offered nicotine replacement patches but will not be required to use them.

Study assessments will consist of online surveys (baseline, 2, 6, and 12 weeks post-quit), and biochemical tests of smoking status (baseline, 12 weeks post-quit). Data will be extracted from the medical record, with participants' permission.

The aims of the study are:

1. To test the feasibility and acceptability of the SiS-H integrated treatment to support people with HIV in quitting smoking.

2. To test the efficacy of the integrated SiS-H treatment to have a positive impact on variables relevant to the process of quitting smoking.

3. (EXPLORATORY) To examine differences in 30-day point prevalence smoking abstinence (biologically verified), other smoking outcomes, and HIV medication adherence between both app groups.

Below are specifics on the Specific Aims of this study, and the investigators' hypotheses:

Specific Aim 1: In this pilot randomized-controlled trial, the investigators will test the feasibility and acceptability of the SiS-H integrated treatment to support people with HIV in quitting smoking.

1. Feasibility (primary outcome): App use of the assigned app, as measured by the number of days participants used the app during the treatment period (8 weeks) will be significantly higher in SiS-H compared to QG. App use will be calculated based on passively collected app usage data.

2. Feasibility (secondary outcomes): The investigators hypothesize that SiS-H treatment will be feasible, as measured in the following ways:

1. Self-reported time spent applying content; the investigators' hypothesis is that "time spent" (i.e., as measured by this self-report item: "During the past week, how much time did participants spend applying or contemplating the content of the [Smiling Instead of Smoking app / QuitGuide app (logic-branched by treatment group)]? ______________ (in minutes, total for the week)") will be equal or higher in SiS-H than QG

2. Achieving expected app use (i.e., 75% of participants using the app at least once 6 out of 8 weeks of the prescribed treatment week)

3. Use of smoking cessation strategies (see attached instrument); the investigators' hypothesis is that "use of strategies" will be equal or higher in SiS-H than QG

3. Acceptability (secondary outcomes): The investigators hypothesize that SiS-H treatment will be acceptable (i.e., equal or higher scores compared to the control group), as measured at treatment end in the following ways:

1. Satisfaction with smoking cessation support (Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8))

2. App system usability (System Usability Scale (SUS))

3. User app rating (User Mobile Application Rating Scale (uMARS))

Specific Aim 2: In this pilot RCT, the investigators will test the efficacy of the integrated SiS-H treatment to have a positive impact on variables relevant to the process of quitting smoking. Specifically, the investigators hypothesize outcomes will be better for the SiS-H group compared to the QG group at the end of treatment on the following measures:

1. Smoking cessation self-efficacy as measured by the Smoking Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (SEQ-12); higher self-efficacy is considered 'better'

2. Craving, as measured by the Brief Questionnaire of Smoking Urges (QSU-Brief); lower craving is considered 'better'

3. Positive affect, as measured by the positive affect subscale of the PANAS Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS); higher positive affect is considered 'better'

Exploratory Aim 3: Although not statistically powered, the investigators will examine differences in 30-day point prevalence abstinence (biologically verified), other smoking outcomes, and 30-day self-reported ART adherence, as measured by the Medication Adherence scale, between both app groups.

Conditions

Smoking Cessation

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: OTHER
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Smiling instead of Smoking - HIV

Participants will be onboarded to the smartphone app "Smiling instead of Smoking - HIV" (SiS-H), and will be asked to use it for 8 weeks while they quit smoking.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Smiling instead of Smoking - HIV

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Participants will be onboarded to the smartphone app "Smiling instead of Smoking - HIV" (SiS-H) and will be asked to complete the integrated SiS-H program while they quit smoking. The integrated SiS-H treatment consists of: (1) face-to-face onboarding to the SiS-H app, (2) one face-to-face session discussing app usage and antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence (Life Steps), with direct linkage to tools in the app supporting ART adherence, and (3) an 8-week course of the SiS-H app. The SiS-H app is a smoking cessation app that uses a positive psychology framework in conjunction with with the US Clinical Practice Guidelines for smoking cessation to guide participants through the process of quitting smoking.

QuitGuide

Participants will be onboarded to the smartphone app "QuitGuide" (QG), and will be asked to use it for 8 weeks while they quit smoking.

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

QuitGuide

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Participants will be onboarded to the NCI smartphone app QuitGuide(QG) and will be asked to use it for 8 weeks to support them in quitting smoking. The QuitGuide app follows the US Clinical Practice Guidelines. The app is freely available on NCI's Smokefree.gov website, which is a recommended resource for treating smokers in the healthcare setting. The QuitGuide app is frequently used as a comparison app in smartphone app smoking cessation studies. It asks participants to set a quit day, track their mood and cravings, and log their cigarettes. It provides app users with guidance on quitting (i.e., "Learn to Quit" information), offers strategies to counter smoking triggers, and allows users to set reminders to stay smoke free (time and location based).

Interventions

Smiling instead of Smoking - HIV

Participants will be onboarded to the smartphone app "Smiling instead of Smoking - HIV" (SiS-H) and will be asked to complete the integrated SiS-H program while they quit smoking. The integrated SiS-H treatment consists of: (1) face-to-face onboarding to the SiS-H app, (2) one face-to-face session discussing app usage and antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence (Life Steps), with direct linkage to tools in the app supporting ART adherence, and (3) an 8-week course of the SiS-H app. The SiS-H app is a smoking cessation app that uses a positive psychology framework in conjunction with with the US Clinical Practice Guidelines for smoking cessation to guide participants through the process of quitting smoking.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

QuitGuide

Participants will be onboarded to the NCI smartphone app QuitGuide(QG) and will be asked to use it for 8 weeks to support them in quitting smoking. The QuitGuide app follows the US Clinical Practice Guidelines. The app is freely available on NCI's Smokefree.gov website, which is a recommended resource for treating smokers in the healthcare setting. The QuitGuide app is frequently used as a comparison app in smartphone app smoking cessation studies. It asks participants to set a quit day, track their mood and cravings, and log their cigarettes. It provides app users with guidance on quitting (i.e., "Learn to Quit" information), offers strategies to counter smoking triggers, and allows users to set reminders to stay smoke free (time and location based).

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Other Intervention Names

SiS-H; QG

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• 18+ years of age
• current smoker, who has smoked at least 100 cigarettes lifetime, and smokes at least weekly
• HIV positive, by self-report
• currently engaged in HIV clinical care (i.e., saw an HIV care provider within the last year)
• willing to let study staff look at medical record to extract HIV-relevant information (e.g., CD4 T cell count)
• willing to make a quit attempt as part of this study
• willing to give permission to study staff to look at app usage for the assigned smoking cessation app
• willing and able to comply with study procedures

Exclusion Criteria

• does not own a smartphone
• does not have daily access to the owned smartphone

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

NIH

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Massachusetts General Hospital

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Bettina B. Hoeppner

Associate Professor

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Bettina Hoeppner, PhD, MS

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Massachusetts General Hospital

Locations

Behavioral Medicine Program (BMED)

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Countries

United States

References

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Other Identifiers

R21CA261458

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

2023P001360

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id