Study of the Diffusion of a Smoking Cessation Application Through an Online Network

Cessation of Smoking Clinical Trial

Official title:

Online Social Networks for Dissemination of Smoking Cessation Interventions

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT01746472
• Other study ID #: 1R01CA155369-01A1
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• First received: December 3, 2012
• Last updated: March 14, 2016
• Start date: December 2012
• Est. completion date: October 2014

Study information

• Verified date: March 2015
• Source: Truth Initiative
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: United States: Institutional Review Board
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Effective evidence-based interventions exist for smoking cessation delivered over the Internet, but consumer acceptance and adherence remains low. Scalable and efficient mechanisms to disseminate these interventions online are needed, and existing online social networks provide a potential mechanism. This is a proposal for a randomized, factorial trial of the dissemination of an evidence-based intervention through the massive Facebook social network, with the goal of determining intervention characteristics that drive viral spread.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 11413
• Est. completion date: October 2014
• Est. primary completion date: October 2013
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: Both
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Facebook user

• Age 18 years or older

• Entered UbiQUITous Facebook Application

• Confirms smoker status

• U.S. resident

Exclusion Criteria:

• Non-smoker

• Under 18 years old

• Non-U.S. resident

• Non-Facebook advertisement point of entry

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Intervention Model: Factorial Assignment, Masking: Double Blind (Subject, Investigator)

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Cessation of Smoking
• Use and Dissemination of Smoking Cessation Intervention

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Facebook app - condition t
Application components hypothesized to increase the duration (t, time) that a participant spends using the application.
• Facebook app - condition z
Application components hypothesized to increase the number of friends that a user has that are eligible to install the application.
• Facebook app - condition B-active
Application components hypothesized to increase the contagiousness of the app by increasing a users ability and desire to proactively contact others.
• Facebook app - condition B-passive
Application components hypothesized to increase the contagiousness of the app by increasing the passive diffusion of information from the user to their friends.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Truth Initiative	Washington	District of Columbia

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Truth Initiative

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Reproductive rate	The investigators will measure the reproductive rate for each condition, in other words the average number of additional individuals that install the application for each original individual recruited to participate. Higher reproductive rates indicate more efficient and faster dissemination.	30 days	No

External Links

•   UbiQUITous Facebook Application (Intervention)