The Feasibility of Text Messaging to Assess Secondhand Smoke Exposure Among Youngsters With Cancer or Sickle Cell Disease
Condition: Cancer; Sickle Cell Disease
MeSH terms: Anemia, Sickle Cell
Study type: Observational

Summary: 
      Exposure to secondhand smoke is a leading preventable cause of child morbidity and mortality,
      and the adverse health consequences of secondhand smoke are magnified among youngsters with
      cancer and sickle cell disease. Current methods for measuring secondhand smoke exposure
      (SHSe) rely on retrospective reports over extended time periods that are subject to recall
      errors and systematic inaccuracies in reporting and often do not include the youngster as the
      primary informant. These methods may underestimate the extent of cumulative SHSe and are not
      well suited to capturing exposure over time and across settings where young people frequent.
      More appealing methods that engage youngsters to better monitor tobacco smoke in their
      environment are warranted.

      The study will examine the feasibility of cell phone texting to obtain measures of secondhand
      smoke exposure (SHSe) in children treated for cancer or sickle cell disease (SCD).
    

Detailed description: 
      Children participating on this study will be asked to report on the smoking that takes place
      in their presence for a period of 7 days by responding to daily texted messages sent by the
      research team to their mobile phones. Rates of participation on the study, compliance with
      reporting SHSe, and feedback about the technical viability and satisfaction with the texting
      methods will be obtained. Parents will also be asked to report on the child's SHSe during the
      same 7-day period so that child and parent reports can be compared. In addition to
      quantitative child and parent reports of SHSe, child and parent questionnaire data about
      attitudes, behavioral practices to control SHSe, and other socio-environmental factors will
      be obtained. Individual interviews with youngsters will provide additional qualitative
      information about the social context and conditions in the child's environment that maintain
      or contribute to avoidance of exposure. This information will be collectively used to develop
      a larger trial that will test a behavioral intervention to reduce SHSe among youngsters with
      cancer and SCD and require them to monitor their SHSe using text messaging. Measuring SHSe in
      these vulnerable populations and intervening to reduce their SHSe is critical to protecting
      their current and long-term health.

      As participation rates and compliance may differ among youngsters diagnosed with cancer and
      sickle cell disease, participants will be stratified by disease group (up to 55 with cancer
      and up to 55 with SCD).
    

Intervention name(s): Text messaging; Questionnaire; Interviews
Intervention type(s): Other; Other; Other
Intervention description(s): Participants report on the smoking that takes place in their presence for a period of 7 days by responding to daily texted messages sent by the research team to their mobile phones. Parents will also be asked to report on the child's SHSe during the same 7-day period so that child and parent reports can be compared.; Child and parent questionnaire data about attitudes, behavioral practices to control SHSe, and other socio-environmental factors will be obtained.; Individual interviews with youngsters will provide additional qualitative information about the social context and conditions in the child's environment that maintain or contribute to avoidance of exposure.
Observational model: Case-Only
Time perspective: Prospective
Sampling method: Non-Probability Sample
Study population: 
        For the purposes of this protocol, the notation of the term "parent" will be used to
        include biological parents, step-parents, and legal guardians. The primary study population
        will consist of patients and parents with the characteristics noted under eligibility
        criteria.
      
Keywords: Text messaging; Secondhand smoke exposure