Optimizing Hookah Tobacco Public Education Messages to Reduce Young Adult Use
Condition: Hookah Tobacco Smoking
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      This is a 2-arm randomized controlled trial to test the effects of hookah tobacco public
      education messages among young adults who are susceptible non-users of hookah tobacco and
      those who are current hookah tobacco users. The primary outcomes are hookah tobacco use
      behavior (initiation among baseline susceptible non-users, frequency of use and cessation
      among baseline current users) at 6-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes are curiosity to use
      hookah tobacco (susceptible non-users) and motivation to quit using hookah tobacco (current
      hookah users) measured at 6-month follow-up. These outcomes will also be measured at 2- and
      4-month follow-up time points.
    

Detailed description: 
      This is a 2-arm randomized controlled trial to test the effects of hookah tobacco public
      education messages among young adults who are susceptible non-users of hookah tobacco and
      current hookah tobacco users. Primary outcomes of hookah use behavior will be measured at the
      6-month follow-up assessment. Secondary outcomes include curiosity to use hookah tobacco
      among susceptible non-users and motivation to quit using hookah tobacco among current users.
      All outcomes are also assessed at 2- and 4-month follow-up time points. All trial
      participants will be recruited from a US national consumer research panel. Eligible
      participants will be 1) young adults ages 18 to 30 (inclusive); 2) who have never used hookah
      tobacco but are deemed susceptible or report hookah tobacco use at least once within the past
      month; and 3) are enrolled members of the partnering consumer research panel. Panel members
      will be contacted via email with a brief description of the study and a link to an
      eligibility screener and online informed consent form. Eligible participants will complete a
      secure online baseline assessment of demographic characteristics, tobacco use history, and
      measures of hookah tobacco use behavior, beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions. After
      completing a baseline, participants will be randomly assigned in approximately equal numbers
      to one of two arms: 1) hookah tobacco messaging arm; 2) control arm. Through 4 brief study
      communications delivered approximately weekly, participants will receive study messages to
      which they are randomized and will complete brief self-report measures online on their
      responses to the messages. For the hookah tobacco messaging arm, communications will consist
      of study messages conveying risks of hookah tobacco use with random assignment of the order
      of messages with each exposure. In response to each message, participants will complete
      measures of message response and hookah-related beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions.
      Participants in the control condition will receive study communications with brief messages
      about health behaviors unrelated to tobacco (e.g., sun protection) and will complete the same
      measures. Hookah tobacco use behaviors, intentions and curiosity to use hookah tobacco
      (non-users), motivation to quit (current users), and hypothesized mediators will be assessed
      2-, 4-, and 6-months after the message exposure period with the primary outcomes captured at
      6-month follow-up.
    

Intervention name(s): Hookah tobacco messages
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Messages communicating the risks of hookah tobacco use in 4 thematic areas: health harms, addictiveness, social use, flavorings.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Intervention model description: The intervention consists of brief hookah tobacco public education messages delivered online through 4 brief study communications. Messages will communicate about the risks of hookah tobacco use in the following theme areas: 1) Health Harms; 2) Addictiveness; 3) Social Use; 4) Flavorings. The order of message themes delivered in each study communication will be randomized.
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention