YES-CAN!: a school-based program to prevent youth nicotine vaping
Official title: Pilot and Feasibility Testing of a Peer-led Program to Prevent Youth Nicotine Vaping: The YES-CAN! Program
Run by University of Colorado, Denver · NCT07009509 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This program tests whether a year-long, student-led video curriculum in middle and high schools can help students avoid starting or stop nicotine vaping.
Quick facts
| Study type | Interventional |
|---|---|
| Ages | 9 Years and up |
| Sex | All |
| Enrollment | 1166 (estimated) |
| Sponsor | University of Colorado, Denver Academic / other |
| Locations | 1 site (Aurora, Colorado) |
| Status | Recruiting |
| Started | August 15, 2024 |
| Main results expected | October 30, 2026 |
| Study ends | October 30, 2026 |
| Registry record updated | July 15, 2025 |
| Trial ID | NCT07009509 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
Is this trial a fit for you?
✓Likely a good fit
Ideal participants are middle and high school students (grades 6–12) in participating schools, including students at risk for starting vaping and current youth vapers, as well as adults involved in the school system who support the program.
✕Probably not a fit
Students who do not attend the participating schools, those unable to read or write in English or Spanish, and youth with severe nicotine dependence needing clinical treatment may not benefit from this prevention-focused program.
A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.
What this trial studies
This pilot implements the YES-CAN! program in two middle/high school communities to determine feasibility for a larger randomized trial. In each community, a trained teacher delivers a credit-earning class to 25–30 students who produce 6–8 short narrative videos that promote refusal skills, stress management, positive coping, and changes in social norms around vaping. Videos are developed with youth-adult collaboration and peer leaders are used as change agents, with the intervention delivered over one school year. Online surveys are collected at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and one year after baseline to track feasibility measures and preliminary behavior outcomes.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the program could reduce vaping initiation and increase quitting among adolescents by shifting school norms and building peer-driven refusal skills.
How similar studies have gone: Some prior school-based, peer-led and media interventions have shown modest success in reducing youth tobacco use, but youth-produced narrative video interventions are less well tested.
Who can join: the full rules
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * Children enrolled in middle school grades 6-8 and high school grades 9-12 (age approximately 10-13 and 14-17); adults (over age 18) involved in educational system Exclusion Criteria: * Not able to read and write in English or Spanish
Where it's running
-
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Aurora, Colorado, United States Recruiting
Study contacts
- Principal investigator: Lori A Crane, PhD, MPH — University of Colorado, Denver
- Study coordinator: Lori A Crane, PhD, MPH
- Email: lori.crane@cuanschutz.edu
- Phone: 3037244385
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How to take part
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
- Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.