Gen AI Powered Behavioral Support Plus Chewing Gum Intervention for Construction Workers Who Smoke

Sponsor
The University of Hong Kong
Study ID
NCT07649018
Status
Not Yet Recruiting

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Conditions

  • Smoking Cessation

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
18 Years - N/A
Healthy Volunteers
Not accepted

Interventions

  • AWARD advice — BEHAVIORAL
    AWARD advice include Ask about smoking history, Warn about the high risk, Advise to quit, Refer smokers to smoking cessation services (with a referral card), and Do it again.
  • Brief leaflet on health warning and smoking cessation — BEHAVIORAL
    The contents of the leaflet include (1) highlights of the absolute risk of death due to smoking; (2) the whole list of diseases caused by active and secondhand smoking; (3) ten horrible pictorial warnings of health consequences of smoking and second-hand smoking in one page to maximize the impacts; (4) benefits of SC and (5) simple messages to encourage participants to quit smoking.
  • Referral card — BEHAVIORAL
    The contents consist of brief information and a highlight of existing smoking cessation services, contact methods, motivation information and strong supporting messages or slogans.
  • Self-help smoking cessation booklet — BEHAVIORAL
    The contents include information about the benefits of quitting, smoking and diseases, methods to quit, how to handle withdrawal symptoms, declaration of quitting, etc.
  • 1-week nicotine gum — DRUG
    Participants in both group will receive a 1-week supply of free nicotine gum (2 mg or 4 mg). The dosage of nicotine gum will be guided by participants' daily cigarette consumption, in accordance with recommendations from the Department of Health. Research assistants will explain the benefits of NRT for smoking cessation, provide instructions on the correct use of nicotine gum, encourage participants to continue using nicotine gum after completing the free sample where appropriate, and advise participants to reduce smoking or make a quit attempt when using NRT.
  • 3-week chewing gum — BEHAVIORAL
    Participants in the intervention group will receive 6 packs of chewing gum at baseline (2 packs per week). Chewing gum will be presented as a practical strategy to replace the hand-to-mouth and oral routines associated with smoking, particularly during work breaks, after meals, in other smoking-related situations at construction sites, or when participants are unwilling to use nicotine gum.
  • 12-week chatbot-based instant messaging support — BEHAVIORAL
    Participants in the intervention group will receive 12 weeks of instant messaging support delivered by the LLM-based chatbot accessible via WhatsApp platform. The chatbot, powered by Claude model (or more advanced model available) using prompt-engineering and agent-based techniques, will deliver theory-based and structured intervention alongside freeform, on-demand support. The structured intervention session deploys the 5As model (Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, and Arrange follow-up) and 5Rs model (Relevance, Risks, Rewards, Roadblocks, Repetition), as used in our previous telephone-counselling trials and recommended by WHO for brief SC intervention.
  • Brief video — BEHAVIORAL
    Participants in both groups will receive a brief motivational video (15-second) via WhatsApp. The video will feature a construction worker who successfully quit smoking in our previous trial, providing a relatable peer role model for participants. The video will welcome participants to the programme, encourage them to make a quit attempt, and promote early use of nicotine gum as a practical strategy for managing cravings and supporting smoking cessation.

Study Details

The goal of this pilot trial is to learn if 1-week NRT sampling, 3-week chewing gum, and 12-week chatbot-delivered instant messaging support works to help smoking cessation in construction workers who smoke. It will also learn about the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of delivering the comprehensive intervention in construction settings. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Will the integrated intervention, comprising NRT sampling, chewing gum, and chatbot-delivered instant messaging support, show feasibility, acceptability, and appropriateness for delivery in construction worksite settings? 2. Will participants who receive the comprehensive intervention have a higher validated abstinence rate than those who receive NRT sampling alone? Researchers will compare the integrated intervention, comprising NRT sampling, chewing gum, and chatbot-delivered instant messaging support, to the standard care group (NRT sampling alone) to see if the integrated intervention works to promote smoking cessation. Participants in the intervention group will receive: 1. AWARD advice and brief video 2. 1-week NRT sampling 3. 3-week chewing gum 4. 12-week chatbot-based instant messaging support (via WhatsApp)

Key Dates

First listed
Jun 15, 2026
Start date
Jun 20, 2026
Status verified
Jun 2026
Primary completion
May 31, 2027
Completion
Jun 30, 2027

Study Design

Enrollment
200 participants (estimated)
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Arms

  • Experimental: Intervention group
  • Active Comparator: Control group

Primary Outcome Measure

Biochemically validated abstinence [ Time Frame: 6-month follow-up ]

Central Contacts

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