Bringing telehealth help for smoking, exercise, and weight into cancer care
Pragmatic Trial
This project adds quick screening and telehealth programs for smoking, physical activity, and weight support into cancer care for adults with cancer or a history of cancer.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Northwestern University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chicago, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11192353 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you get cancer care at Northwestern, your clinic would add brief questions about smoking, activity, and weight to your electronic health record. Answers that show risk behaviors would trigger automatic referrals to telehealth programs for quitting smoking, getting active, or behavioral weight support. The team builds on existing EHR tools and tobacco/symptom programs already used in oncology and expands them across the clinical network with minimal disruption to visits. Outcomes and usage will be tracked through the EHR to see if more patients access and benefit from these services.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Adults (typically 21+) receiving cancer care within the Northwestern Medicine oncology network who smoke, are inactive, or have excess weight are the ideal candidates.
Not a fit: People not receiving care at Northwestern Medicine, children or teens, or those unable or unwilling to use telehealth or who do not have the targeted risk behaviors may not benefit directly.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could make behavioral support more accessible to cancer patients and survivors, helping improve treatment response, quality of life, and long-term health.
How similar studies have performed: Northwestern and other centers have shown promise with EHR-linked tobacco cessation and symptom monitoring, but automating referrals for multiple cancer risk behaviors across a whole oncology system is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
Chicago, United States
- Northwestern University — Chicago, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Spring, Bonnie — Northwestern University
- Study coordinator: Spring, Bonnie
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.