Preliminary Effectiveness of Enhanced Text Message + Incentives

Purpose

This study is a preliminary evaluation of a smoking cessation intervention designed for pregnant women that combines text message support and financial incentives. The aims of this study are to determine the preliminary feasibility and acceptability of text message + incentives (intervention) vs. text message only (control).

Conditions

  • Smoking Cessation
  • Pregnancy

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Over 18 Years
Eligible Sex
Female
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No

Inclusion Criteria

Pregnant women aged: 18+, Enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for women, Infants, and Children (WIC) or Medicaid (or applied/applying), Self-reported current daily smokers, Able to communicate in English, Access to a mobile phone capable of receiving text messages

Exclusion Criteria

Not at all interested in quitting, Smoke less than 24 days in the past month, Greater than 30 weeks gestation

Study Design

Phase
N/A
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Parallel Assignment
Primary Purpose
Treatment
Masking
None (Open Label)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Experimental
Text Messaging + Incentives 		Participants in this arm will receive a combination of text messages designed to support smoking cessation and escalating financial incentives contingent on biochemically-verified smoking abstinence (exhaled carbon monoxide).
  • Behavioral: Text Messages
    Intervention Component - Text messages (SmokeFreeTXT library with pregnancy related messages) participants will receive scheduled messages to support quitting and prevent relapse.
  • Behavioral: Incentives
    Incentives for abstinence - Weeks 1-4; 8; 12: Twice daily CO assessments with verification sent via text-message. Participants will receive daily incentives ranging each day of smoking abstinence.
Active Comparator
Text Messaging Only 		Participants in this arm will receive the same text messaging program as in Arm 1, but without the financial incentives contingent on abstinence.
  • Behavioral: Text Messages
    Intervention Component - Text messages (SmokeFreeTXT library with pregnancy related messages) participants will receive scheduled messages to support quitting and prevent relapse.

Recruiting Locations

University of Kansas Medical Center
Kansas City 4273837, Kansas 4273857 66160
Contact:
Taneisha Scheuermann, PhD
913-588-2641
tscheuermann@kumc.edu

More Details

Status
Recruiting
Sponsor
University of Kansas Medical Center

Study Contact

Detailed Description

Pregnant women who smoke and their babies are exposed to known carcinogens and smoking is associated with adverse maternal and birth outcomes. Low-income pregnant women are particularly at risk because they have higher smoking rates and are less likely to quit. Despite continued smoking, most pregnant smokers do not receive smoking cessation counseling and only one in 10 receive referrals to cessation services or follow-up care. Incentives for smoking cessation yield the highest effect sizes of any intervention for pregnant women. Most prior studies evaluating incentives for smoking cessation in this population have used time and resource-intensive in-person visits to verify abstinence for contingent reinforcement. The long-term goal of this research is to reduce the burden of tobacco use by developing and evaluating a highly scalable, effective intervention to support smoking cessation during pregnancy.