NCT06900985

Therapeutic Contact Intensity in a Psychological Smoking Cessation Intervention With an App

Assessment of a Psychological Treatment for Smoking Cessation Combined With an App According to the Intensity of Therapeutic Contact: Randomized Controlled Trial

• Status: Not Yet Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 429 (estimated)
• Sponsor: University of Santiago de Compostela · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This randomized controlled trial intends to examine the efficacy of a smoking cessation intervention with an App according to the intensity of therapeutic contact. Participants will be assigned to one of three groups. The first group will receive eight sessions with trained psychologists alongside access to the App. The second group will receive four sessions with trained psychologists plus App access. The control group will only have access to the App. This study seeks to determine the impact of different levels of therapeutic contact on abstinence outcomes.

Detailed description

Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. It is crucial to implement preventive measures to reduce the likelihood of people starting to smoke but also to make effective smoking cessation treatments available to those who smoke. Psychological interventions have proven to be effective to quit smoking and are considered first-choice interventions, especially for specific populations such as adolescents or pregnant women . The motivation behind this proposal is to improve the effectiveness of smoking cessation treatments based on our clinical and research experience in smoking cessation psychological interventions. Although we have very effective psychological treatments, producing abstinence rates of approximately 70% at the end of the treatment, and 35% at one year of follow-up to continue improving its effectiveness and reduce relapse rates is warranted. Furthermore, technological advances can help increase accessibility to available treatments and motivation to participate in smoking cessation interventions. The main objective of this proposal is to assess the efficacy of a cognitive-behavioral treatment for smoking cessation with new components (anhedonia and mood management, physical activity, and positive social support) according to the intensity of the therapeutic contact, through a randomized controlled trial. The treatment will be conducted through video call format to make it more accessible. The study will compare three groups that will receive treatments of varying intensity of therapeutic contact: 1) 8 intervention sessions + App (Experimental Group 1, EG1), 2) 4 intervention sessions + App (Experimental Group 2, G2), and 3) no therapeutic contact, App only (control group/CG). Our initial hypothesis is that the higher intensity intervention (EG1) will be more effective than EG2 and CG groups in abstinence outcomes at the end of the intervention and in reducing relapse rates for one year follow-up. The EG2 will be more effective than the CG in abstinence outcomes at the end of the intervention and in reducing relapse rates during one-year follow-up. Digital treatment delivery formats will be used to increase treatment accessibility: 1) treatment sessions will be conducted through video calls which will remove geographical and time-related barriers. This format will be particularly useful for smokers experiencing barriers to access to treatment due to work/family schedules; 2) a smoking cessation App will be used to improve adherence and access to treatment components anytime, anywhere. Moreover, integrating technology into the treatment can facilitate participants intersessions tasks and support the work of professionals. Our previous experience with an App as a complement to the smoking cessation intervention showed excellent abstinence outcomes.

Conditions

• Smoking Behaviors

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	8-sessions CBT + App	It will consist of 8 one-hour sessions applied in group format once a week and participants will be followed at 3, 6, and 12 months. The sessions will be conducted by clinical psychology/general health psychology professionals and will be carried out using video calls. The smoking cessation treatment follows a cognitive-behavioral approach with components for anhedonia reduction, increased physical activity and positive social support, being a modified, multidisciplinary, and extended version of the original smoking cessation program (Becoña, 2007; Becoña et al., 2017). The treatment will be complemented with an App with active therapeutic components that participants will use during treatment and the one-year follow-up period.
BEHAVIORAL	4-sessions CBT+App	It will consist of 4 one-hour sessions applied in group format every two-weeks (8 weeks total duration) and participants will be followed at 3, 6, and 12 months. The sessions will be conducted by clinical psychology/general health psychology professionals and will be carried out using video calls. The 4 sessions will have the following content: 1) explanation of treatment rationale and components available in the App; 2) participants' progress monitoring, reinforcement of achieved goals, and analysis of difficulties; 3) cessation planning support; and 4) relapse prevention support. The treatment sessions will be protocolized in a treatment manual. The treatment will be complemented with the same App that the other conditions
BEHAVIORAL	Smoking cessation App	It will consist in the same App than the other two conditions. No therapeutic contact will be avaliable.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-10-01
• Primary completion: 2028-04-01
• Completion: 2028-04-01
• First posted: 2025-03-28
• Last updated: 2025-04-03

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Spain