YES-CAN! Program for Preventing Youth Vaping

(YES-CAN! Trial)

Overseen By Lori A Crane, PhD, MPH

Age: Any Age

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: University of Colorado, Denver

Disqualifiers: Not able to read and write

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: 7

1166 Participants Needed

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial aims to determine if the YES-CAN! Program can prevent vaping among middle and high school students. The program involves students collaborating with teachers to create videos that teach skills such as refusing vaping, managing stress, and encouraging peers to quit vaping. Participants will also receive supportive text messages to reinforce classroom learning. Students in grades 6-12 who can read and write in English or Spanish are suitable candidates for this trial. As an unphased trial, this study provides students an opportunity to contribute to research that could positively impact their peers' health and well-being.

Will I have to stop taking my current medications?

The trial information does not specify whether participants need to stop taking their current medications.

What prior data suggests that the YES-CAN! program is safe for adolescents?

Research shows that the YES-CAN! Program aims to prevent youth vaping through fun and educational activities. In this program, students create videos to promote healthy habits and discourage vaping. As an educational initiative, it poses no risk of physical harm or side effects like those from medications or medical treatments. Instead, it focuses on changing behaviors and attitudes about vaping through creative and group activities.

Previous studies have not identified any negative effects from this type of program. The program emphasizes positive peer influence and skill-building, which students generally enjoy. While this is a pilot study to evaluate the program's effectiveness, the nature of the activities suggests it is safe for participants. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial?

Researchers are excited about the YES-CAN! Program because it takes a fresh and engaging approach to preventing youth vaping. Unlike traditional methods that often rely on lectures and didactic education, this program involves students directly by having them create videos that tackle vaping issues from their perspective. By empowering students to produce content, it leverages peer influence to shift social norms and enhance skills like refusal and stress management. Plus, the program integrates a text message campaign to continually support and reinforce the lessons, making it both interactive and consistent over time.

What evidence suggests that the YES-CAN! Program is effective for preventing youth vaping?

Research has shown that the YES-CAN! program, which participants in this trial will engage in, might help lower the chances of teens starting to vape nicotine. In this program, teens create videos and lead group discussions, potentially changing perceptions about vaping. The program emphasizes teaching teens to refuse vaping, manage stress, and adopt healthy coping strategies. Early results suggest these activities might reduce the risk of teens beginning to vape. This method leverages peer influence to build a supportive community against vaping. ^{1 2 6 7 8}

Who Is on the Research Team?

Nancy L Asdigian, PhD

Principal Investigator

University of Colorado, Denver

Lori A Crane, PhD, MPH

Principal Investigator

University of Colorado, Denver

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for middle or high school students in two school communities. It aims to prevent nicotine vaping by teaching them through a class where they create videos promoting refusal skills and positive coping strategies. Students involved must be willing to participate in the creation and delivery of these health message videos.

Inclusion Criteria

I am a student in grades 6-12, aged between 10 and 17.

I am over 18 and involved in the educational system.

Exclusion Criteria

Not able to read and write in English or Spanish

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Intervention Development

Students develop and produce 6-8 short narrative videos related to vaping prevention

Fall semester

Weekly class sessions

Intervention Delivery

Students deliver the vaping prevention program to middle school students through classroom sessions and a media campaign

Spring semester

6-8 sessions in middle school classrooms

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for program effectiveness and behavioral changes

12 months

Surveys at baseline, immediately after intervention, and 1-year post-baseline

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• YES-CAN! Program

Trial Overview The YES-CAN! program, which includes youth-adult collaboration, peer-led video messages, and text messaging components, is being tested for its ability to change social norms around vaping and help prevent or stop nicotine use among adolescents.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: YES-CAN! Intervention Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

A credit-earning middle or high school course that includes curriculum related to vaping, health risk communication, and video production will be established and approximately 25-30 students will be enrolled. Students will produce 6-8 short videos intended to increase refusal skills; promote stress management and positive coping; change social norms; prevent vaping initiation; and promote vaping cessation among middle school students. Videos will use a narrative approach and integrate known determinants of vaping. Students will collaborate with the teacher and researchers to develop discussion guides and skills-building activities based on best practices for substance use prevention. Students will deliver their videos, along with discussion and supportive activities, to all students in the associated middle school. A text message campaign will reinforce and boost the effectiveness of the classroom sessions.

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

University of Colorado, Denver

Lead Sponsor

Trials

1,842

Recruited

3,028,000+

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Collaborator

Trials

2,658

Recruited

3,409,000+

Citations

1. clinicaltrials.gov clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07009509

Pilot Study of the YES-CAN! Program to Prevent Youth ... Scale scores range from 1 to 5 with high scores indicating perceived norms supportive of vaping. Baseline. Vaping perceived norms at 9 months, A scale that ...

2. sciencedirect.com sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749379723003896

Interventions for Preventing E-Cigarette Use Among ... A meta-analysis in 2017 reported that youth who had ever vaped were over 3 times more likely to initiate combustible cigarette smoking than those who never ...

3. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35678642/

Reducing Youth Vaping: A Pilot Test of the Peer ... - PubMed The findings from this study indicate that the YES-CAN! program holds promise for reducing risks of nicotine vaping among adolescents.

4. researchgate.net researchgate.net/publication/361202101_Reducing_Youth_Vaping_A_Pilot_Test_of_the_Peer-Led_Youth_Engaged_Strategies_for_Changing_Adolescent_Norms_YES-CAN_Program

Reducing Youth Vaping: A Pilot Test of the Peer-Led “ ... The findings from this study indicate that the YES-CAN! program holds promise for reducing risks of nicotine vaping among adolescents. This contributes to a ...

5. ajpmonline.org ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797(23)00389-6/pdf

Interventions for Preventing E-Cigarette Use Among ... Although most vaping prevention interventions showed a decrease in youth combustible tobacco use,. Mylocopos et al / Am J Prev Med 2024;66(2):351−370. 367.

6. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8629945/

School-Based E-cigarette Cessation Programs Furthermore, data suggest some youth have experienced negative health consequences from vaping such as coughing, chest pain, sore throat, and trouble breathing ...

7. jamanetwork.com jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2822082

A Vaping Cessation Text Message Program for Adolescent ... A tailored, interactive text message intervention increased self-reported vaping cessation rates among adolescents recruited via social media channels.

8. bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-024-19036-1

Vaping cessation support recommendations from adolescents ... We conducted in-depth qualitative interviews to explore adolescents' reasons to quit vaping, prior attempts to quit, and their recommendations for cessation ...