Contact information
Type
Scientific
Primary contact
Dr Paul Aveyard
ORCID ID
Contact details
Department of Public Health and Epidemiology
University of Birmingham
Birmingham
B15 2TT
United Kingdom
P.N.Aveyard@bham.ac.uk
Additional identifiers
EudraCT number
ClinicalTrials.gov number
Protocol/serial number
N/A
Study information
Scientific title
Acronym
Study hypothesis
To examine whether a year long programme incorporating three sessions using an expert system computer programme and three whole class lessons based on the transtheoretical model (TTM) of behaviour change could reduce the prevalence of teenage smoking.
Ethics approval
Not provided at time of registration
Study design
Randomised controlled trial
Primary study design
Interventional
Secondary study design
Randomised controlled trial
Trial setting
Not specified
Trial type
Prevention
Patient information sheet
Condition
Mental and behavioural disorders: Addiction
Intervention
The intervention group received six sessions of two types: one computer session and one class lesson for each of the three terms of year 9 (autumn 1997 to summer 1998). For the computer session, the research team set up a classroom with about 30 computers and removed these at the end of the day. Whole classes came in turns and each student used a computer with headphones. The computer program was based on that developed by Prochaska and colleagues, containing questionnaires measuring the key concepts of the transtheoretical model. After each questionnaire students received feedback both through the headphones and on screen of how their temptations, for example, compared to stage based data collected by Pallonen et al (normative feedback) and in second and third sessions, what change had occurred since last time (ipsative feedback). The questionnaires were interspersed with video clips of young people talking about their thoughts about smoking that were relevant to the stage of change of the student concerned. The other transtheoretical model intervention was a one hour lesson delivered by ordinary class teachers. The teachers attended a two day training course organised by Public Management Associates, who had developed licensed training and lesson plans in consultation with Prochaska and colleagues. The three lessons developed the young people's understanding of the stages of change and how the pros and cons of smoking would vary in different stages, and the lessons got young people to use these concepts. More details of how we delivered the intervention are available.
Our aim for students in the control group was that they would be exposed to no intervention other than the normal health education on tobacco, which is part of the English national curriculum. However, as a reward for participation, teachers in control group schools were given three lesson plans and handouts on smoking. These lessons consisted of quizzes on facts about tobacco and one lesson on different ways of persuading someone to stop smoking. The content of the lessons was all taken from generally available teaching support material. The lesson plans and materials were provided to all control group schools, but teachers in these schools received no training in smoking issues or delivery of the lessons and it was up to the individual schools whether or not they used the materials.
Intervention type
Other
Phase
Not Applicable
Drug names
Primary outcome measure
Prevalence of teenage smoking and proportion of positive stage movements 12 months after the start of the intervention.
Secondary outcome measures
Not provided at time of registration
Overall trial start date
01/09/1997
Overall trial end date
31/03/2000
Reason abandoned (if study stopped)
Eligibility
Participant inclusion criteria
52 schools in the West Midlands region.
Participant type
Patient
Age group
Child
Gender
Not Specified
Target number of participants
8352
Participant exclusion criteria
Not provided at time of registration
Recruitment start date
01/09/1997
Recruitment end date
31/03/2000
Locations
Countries of recruitment
United Kingdom
Trial participating centre
Department of Public Health and Epidemiology
Birmingham
B15 2TT
United Kingdom
Sponsor information
Organisation
NHS R&D Regional Programme Register - Department of Health (UK)
Sponsor details
The Department of Health
Richmond House
79 Whitehall
London
SW1A 2NL
United Kingdom
+44 (0)20 7307 2622
dhmail@doh.gsi.org.uk
Sponsor type
Government
Website
Funders
Funder type
Government
Funder name
NHS Executive West Midlands (UK)
Alternative name(s)
Funding Body Type
Funding Body Subtype
Location
Results and Publications
Publication and dissemination plan
Not provided at time of registration
Intention to publish date
Participant level data
Not provided at time of registration
Basic results (scientific)
Publication list
Results:
1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12560019
2. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12453720
3. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11570836
4. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10514156
Publication citations
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Aveyard P, Markham WA, Almond J, Lancashire E, Cheng KK, The risk of smoking in relation to engagement with a school-based smoking intervention., Soc Sci Med, 2003, 56, 4, 869-882.
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Aveyard P, Lancashire E, Almond J, Cheng KK, Can the stages of change for smoking acquisition be measured reliably in adolescents?, Prev Med, 2002, 35, 4, 407-414.
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Aveyard P, Sherratt E, Almond J, Lawrence T, Lancashire R, Griffin C, Cheng KK, The change-in-stage and updated smoking status results from a cluster-randomized trial of smoking prevention and cessation using the transtheoretical model among British adolescents., Prev Med, 2001, 33, 4, 313-324, doi: 10.1006/pmed.2001.0889.
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Aveyard P, Cheng KK, Almond J, Sherratt E, Lancashire R, Lawrence T, Griffin C, Evans O, Cluster randomised controlled trial of expert system based on the transtheoretical ("stages of change") model for smoking prevention and cessation in schools., BMJ, 1999, 319, 7215, 948-953.