Avatar-led app using ACT to help young adults quit vaping
ACT on Vaping: Digital Therapeutic for Young Adult Vaping Cessation
This project offers an avatar-led smartphone program based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help young adults stop using e-cigarettes.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Seattle, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11247482 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You would use an avatar-led app that teaches Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) skills tailored for young adult vapers. The team will finish building the app, submit it for an FDA Q-review, and run a small randomized pilot comparing the app to brief advice and education. About 60 participants will be enrolled in the pilot with outcomes including self-report and biochemically confirmed abstinence. The goal is to check whether people like the app and show early signs of quitting before moving to a larger trial.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Young adults who currently use e-cigarettes and have a smartphone, including those at any stage of readiness to quit, are the intended participants.
Not a fit: People who do not vape, who lack smartphone access, or who need immediate in-person medical treatment for nicotine dependence are unlikely to benefit from this app-based intervention.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could give young adults an accessible digital tool that increases quit attempts and supports lasting vaping cessation.
How similar studies have performed: Previous pilot work of a similar ACT-based digital approach reported high user satisfaction and promising rates of biochemically confirmed tobacco abstinence, though larger trials are limited.
Where this research is happening
Seattle, United States
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center — Seattle, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Heffner, Jaimee — Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
- Study coordinator: Heffner, Jaimee
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.