Community paramedics plus a mobile 'Take a Break' program to help rural smokers try quitting
Using Rural Community Paramedicine to Engage Lower-Motivated Smokers: Spreading an Effective mHealth-Assisted Intervention to Motivate Cessation
This program offers mobile phone support and local community paramedics to help adults in rural areas who smoke but aren't ready to quit try a short smoke-free break.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Wake Forest University Health Sciences NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Winston-Salem, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11296834 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If I live in a participating rural county and smoke but don't feel ready to quit, local EMS/community paramedics will be trained to talk with me and refer me to a short mobile-phone program called 'Take a Break' that supports a brief abstinence experience. Counties are randomized to receive either standard training and technical support or an enhanced program that adds EMS 'champions' to boost delivery. The mobile intervention provides encouragement, monitoring (for example, carbon monoxide checks), and brief coaching to help me attempt a smoke-free break using my phone. The study compares how well the two implementation approaches reach people and prompt quit attempts over time.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Adults (age 21 and older) who live in participating rural counties—especially in Appalachia or eastern North Carolina—who currently smoke and are not yet ready to quit are ideal candidates.
Not a fit: People who already want immediate, intensive quit treatment, who don't have access to a mobile phone, or who live outside the participating counties may not benefit from this program.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could help more rural smokers make quit attempts by bringing brief phone-based support into local EMS services.
How similar studies have performed: Mobile smoking-support programs and short abstinence challenges have shown promise, but using community paramedics to deliver and scale these services in rural areas is a relatively new approach.
Where this research is happening
Winston-Salem, United States
- Wake Forest University Health Sciences — Winston-Salem, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Houston, Thomas K — Wake Forest University Health Sciences
- Study coordinator: Houston, Thomas K
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.