Who can join the EQQUAL study?
LGBTQ+ individuals, age 18-30, who live in the U.S., smoke at least one cigarette per week, and are willing/able to complete all study activities and are willing/able to receive text messages. Participants do not have to be ready to quit smoking to participate in this study.
What do I have to do?
- Complete a 5-minute online survey to determine if you are eligible to join this study
- If you are eligible, read and sign the study consent form and fill out another online survey (takes 10-20 minutes)
- Upload a photo of yourself that we will use only during your study participation to verify your identity if you are selected for saliva testing (see below)
- You will be randomly assigned (like a toss of a coin) to receive one of two quit smoking online programs
- You will use the study quit smoking online program as much as you like
- Fill out the end-of-study survey (10-20 minutes) after 3 months of being in the study. You will be compensated up to $70 for the completed survey.
- You may be asked to complete a saliva test after the 3-month survey. If so, you will be compensated up to $25 after sending us your result and a photo of yourself completing the saliva test.
EQQUAL FAQ
- Who is conducting this study?
- Who is funding this research?
- What is your confidentiality and privacy policy?
- Your survey information will be kept strictly confidential on a secure website
- The study website is encrypted
- The study server is housed behind Fred Hutch hardware firewall
- We will not use identifiable information about you in any reports about this study, such as journal articles or presentations at scientific meetings
- This research study is covered by a Certificate of Confidentially from the U.S. government. This Certificate helps protect the confidentiality of information about people who join this study by prohibiting disclosure of identifiable, sensitive research information to anyone not connected to the research, except if the participant consents and a few other specific situations. You can learn more about this here (Certificates of Confidentiality (CoC) - Human Subjects | grants.nih.gov)
- How long is this study?
- What will I get if I become a study participant?
- What is the difference between the two quit smoking programs?
- Is this study intended to provide mental health care?
- National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: 988
- National Crisis Text: Text HOME to 741741 (crisistextline.org)
- Does study staff monitor my survey responses and reach out if I need help?
- What information is tracked when I sign up for the study?
- What information do you keep about me and/or my browser if I use the study website?
- What other options do I have if I do not want to take part in this study?
- Talking to your doctor
- National Cancer Institute's smoking cessation websites, apps, and text messaging programs: see www.smokefree.gov
- Your state quitline (available in all 50 states) by calling 800-QUIT-NOW
Jaimee Heffner, PhD is the Principal Investigator of this study. Dr. Heffner is an Associate Professor in the Cancer Prevention Program at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. You can learn more of Dr. Heffner's work here.
The Klorfine Foundation for Cancer Prevention is funding this research study.
Keeping your information confidential and private is very important to us. Here are steps we take to protect your information:
Enrolled individuals participate in this study for 3 months.
Study participants get access to an online quit smoking program at no cost to them and will receive compensation up to $97 after completing the study activities.
Both of the programs offer a quit guide with content to help you get ready to quit, provide you with text messages and tips for quitting, and have tools to help you manage your cravings and other challenges of quitting. Both programs include content consistent with current clinical practice guidelines for quitting smoking with the only difference being the approach to quitting smoking.
This study is not intended to provide mental health care. Should you experience mental health difficulties or suicidal thoughts, please seek assistance from a healthcare provider or crisis line:
No, the responses to the survey questions are not monitored. Should you need assistance with mental health, please see a health care professional and reach out to one of the resources above for support. If you need help completing study-related activities (e.g., technical support for logging onto the website), you should contact the study manager by email at EQQUAL@fredhutch.org or by phone at 206.667.2428.
If you are eligible to participate and complete all the required questions and documents to be in the study, we will send you a text message with a link. When you click on this link, we will receive information about your smartphone device so we can verify that you are able to receive SMS Text messages. We will also record your IP address as part of our eligibility checks.
We will keep information about your IP address if you enroll in this study. We will also maintain a list of your logins of the website, and the parts of the program that you accessed.
You do not have to join this study. You are free to say "yes" or "no". If you decide not to take part in this study, you can still receive treatment to help you to quit smoking. Your other choices may include:
