scholarly journals Mobile Text Messaging for Tobacco Risk Communication among Young-Adult Community College Students: A Randomized Trial of Project DEBUNK (Preprint)

10.2196/25618 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander V Prokhorov ◽  
Karen Sue Calabro ◽  
Ashish Arya ◽  
Sophia Russell ◽  
Katarzyna W Czerniak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Community College ◽  
Young Adult ◽  
Randomized Trial ◽  
Community College Students ◽  
Risk Communication ◽  
Text Messaging

scholarly journals Mobile Phone Text Messaging for Tobacco Risk Communication among Young Adult Community College Students: Protocol and Baseline Overview for a Randomized Trial (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander V. Prokhorov ◽  
Georges Elias Khalil ◽  
Karen Sue Calabro ◽  
Tamara Costello Machado ◽  
Sophia C. Russel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Randomized Trial ◽  
Risk Communication ◽  
Tobacco Use ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Text Messaging ◽  
Electronic Cigarettes ◽  
Text Messages ◽  
Message Structure

BACKGROUND Young adults in community college represent an underserved population susceptible to tobacco use. The use of mobile health (mHealth) text messaging may be an effective strategy for tobacco risk communication with diverse young adults. However, the message structure that is most capable of increasing perceived tobacco risk is still not known. OBJECTIVE The current research protocol outlines the rationale and design of Project Debunk, a randomized trial comparing the effects of different structures of text messages. METHODS The study is being conducted as a 6-month long randomized trial comparing eight arms, based on the combination of the three message structures delivered to young adults in a 2x2x2 study design: framing (gain-framed or loss-framed), depth (simple or complex), and appeal (emotional or rational). Participants were invited to participate from three community colleges in Houston from September 2016 through July 2017. Participants are randomized to one arm, and receive text messages in two separate campaigns. Each campaign consists of two text messages per day for 30 days (i.e., 60 messages). In addition to baseline assessment, perceived risk is assessed two months after the first campaign, and two months after the second campaign. We assessed perceived risk of using conventional products (e.g., combustible cigarettes) and new and emerging products (e.g., electronic cigarettes). RESULTS We completed data collection for the baseline survey on a rolling basis during this time, and assessed validity of the message structure after one week of messages. For the entire sample (n=636), the average age was 20.92 years (SD=2.52); about two-thirds were female, and most were black/African American (n=266/636; 41.2%) or white/Caucasian (n=239/636; 37.0%). After one week of receiving messages: (1) loss-framed messages were more likely to be perceived as presenting a loss than gain-framed messages (F=13.21, P<0.001), (2) complex messages were perceived to be more complex than simple messages (F=2.03, P=0.049), and (3) emotional messages were perceived to be more emotionally involving than rational messages (F=6.35, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS This study confirms that the recruitment, randomization methods, and message structures, have been successfully implemented for this randomized trial. The findings will be able to identify specific types of message combinations that are more effective than others in increasing perceived risk of tobacco use. If our results suggest that any of the eight specific text message structures is more effective for helping young adults understand tobacco risk, this would provide evidence to include such messages as part of larger technology-based campaigns such as smartphone applications, entertainment-based campaigns, and social media. CLINICALTRIAL This trial was registered at the Clinical Trials registry, NCT03457480; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03457480?term=NCT03457480&rank=1 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6ykd4IIap).

scholarly journals Mobile Text Messaging for Tobacco Risk Communication among Young-Adult Community College Students: A Randomized Trial of Project DEBUNK (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander V Prokhorov ◽  
Georges E Khalil ◽  
Karen Sue Calabro ◽  
Ashish Arya ◽  
Sophia Russell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Randomized Trial ◽  
Risk Communication ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Text Messaging ◽  
Text Messages ◽  
Baseline Survey ◽  
Mixed Effect ◽  
Tobacco Products

BACKGROUND The use of new and emerging tobacco products (NETPs) and conventional tobacco products (CTPs) has been linked to several alarming medical conditions among young adults (YAs). Considering that nearly all YAs (96%) own mobile phones, mobile phone text messaging is likely to be an effective strategy for tobacco risk communication. OBJECTIVE The objective of the current paper is to present the results of Project Debunk, a community-based randomized trial aimed to identify specific types of messages that are more effective than others in increasing the perceived risk of NETP use and CTP use among YAs in community college. METHODS With YAs recruited offline from three campuses at the Houston Community College (September 2016 – July 2017), we conducted a 6-month randomized trial with eight arms, based on the combination of three message categories: framing (gain-framed versus loss-framed), depth (simple versus complex), and appeal (emotional versus rational). Participants received fully automated online text messages in two 30-day long campaigns, consisting of 2 text messages per day. We conducted repeated-measures mixed-effect models predicting perceived CTP and NETP risks. RESULTS A total of 636 participants completed the baseline survey, were randomized to 1 of the 8 conditions (between 73 and 86 participants per condition), and received the text messages from both campaigns. However, 70.12% (446/636) completed all outcome measures at the two-month post-campaign 2 assessment. By the end of both campaigns, participants significantly increased in perceived NETP risk (P<.0001). Although not significant at the 0.007 level, participants increased in perceived CTP risk (P=.008). There was a significant increase at the 0.007 level in perceived NETP risk among participants who received rational messages (P=.005), simple messages (P=.003), and gain-framed messages about NETPs (p=0.003). There was an increase in perceived CTP risk at the 0.05 level of significance among participants who received emotional messages (P=.010), those who received complex messages (P=.026), and those who received loss-framed messages (P=.012). CONCLUSIONS In this trial, YAs increased in perceived NETP risk regardless of the type of message received. However, with stratification, we observed a significant increase in perceived NETP risk upon exposure to rational, simple, and gain-framed messages. In addition, YAs generally increased in perceived CTP risk, particularly upon exposure to emotional, complex, and loss-framed messages. With the results of this study, researchers and practitioners implementing mobile health (mHealth) programs may take advantage of our tailored messages through larger technology-based programs such as smartphone applications and social media campaigns. CLINICALTRIAL This trial was registered at the Clinical Trials registry, NCT03457480; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03457480?term=NCT03457480&rank=1 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6ykd4IIap). INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-10.2196/10977

Assessing the Efficacy of an Online Stress Management Intervention for Community College Students

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liza N. Meredith ◽  
Patricia A. Frazier ◽  
Jacob A. Paulsen ◽  
Christiaan S. Greer ◽  
Kelli G. Howard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Community College ◽  
Community College Students ◽  
Stress Management ◽  
Management Intervention ◽  
Stress Management Intervention
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