Mobile health program to help people with HIV in Laos quit smoking
Official title: Implementing Sustainable mobile health Technology to Optimize smoking cessation Program for Lao people with HIV (I-STOP)
Funded at University of Oklahoma Hlth Sciences Ctr · NIH-11400256 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project offers a smartphone app plus clinic outreach to help people living with HIV in Laos quit smoking.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Oklahoma Hlth Sciences Ctr NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Oklahoma City, United States) |
| Project start | August 12, 2024 |
| Project end | July 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $111,521 |
| NIH project number | 3U01CA294811-02S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11400256 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults living with HIV in Laos who currently smoke, receive care at one of the participating ART clinics, and can use a smartphone are ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People who do not attend the participating clinics, do not smoke, are not ready to try quitting, or lack smartphone access are unlikely to benefit.
What this research studies
You would get a smartphone app that sends personalized texts, photos, and videos to support quitting. Clinic staff will ask about smoking at visits, briefly advise quitting, and connect smokers to the app-based program using an Ask-Advise-Connect approach. The project compares two ways of implementing these supports across eight antiretroviral therapy clinics in the largest provinces of Laos to find a sustainable strategy. The program builds on earlier apps used in Laos and Cambodia and proven clinic referral methods.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could make quitting support widely available to people with HIV in Laos and lower tobacco-related illness and cancer risk.
How similar studies have gone: Earlier smartphone-based cessation programs and the Ask-Advise-Connect clinic method have helped smokers quit in other settings, though combining them for people with HIV in Laos is new.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Oklahoma Hlth Sciences Ctr
Oklahoma City, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Bui, Thanh C. — University of Oklahoma Hlth Sciences Ctr
- Study coordinator: Bui, Thanh C.
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Social stress and smoking: why disadvantaged young adults struggle to quit
This grant looks at how daily social stress affects if and when disadvantaged young adults who smoke can quit and stay quit.
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I-STOP: a mobile health program to help people with HIV quit smoking
A smartphone-based program designed to help people with HIV quit smoking in a sustainable, affordable way.
-
Smoking cessation help for people with HIV in South Africa
A program is being tested to help people living with HIV in South Africa quit smoking in ways that fit low-resource clinics and show good value.
-
Mobile tools to understand how sleep affects quitting smoking
This project uses a smartphone to track sleep and smoking in lower-income adults trying to quit to find how sleep patterns relate to staying smoke-free.
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Integrated approach to lung screening and quitting for African Americans
A multi-level program aims to boost LDCT lung cancer screening uptake and help African American smokers quit, with support from a comprehensive community-focused plan.
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Peer-led smoking-cessation program for public housing residents
A peer-led program with eight group sessions plus nicotine replacement therapy is tested on adults living in public housing to help them quit smoking.
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.