Are Text‐Message Based Programmes Targeting Adolescents and Their Parents an Acceptable Approach to Preventing Adolescent e‐Cigarette Use?
Courtney Barnes, Lisa Janssen, Stephanie Mantach, Sam McCrabb, Heidi Turon, Daniel Groombridge, Kate Bartlem, Caitlin Bialek, Lucy Couper, Luke WolfendenABSTRACT
Issue Addressed
Increasing rates of e‐cigarette use amongst adolescents has been identified as a public health concern, due to negative health effects and the association with an increased risk of tobacco use. Effective strategies to prevent e‐cigarette uptake are required. Text‐message programmes represent a potentially effective and cost‐effective approach, that is also minimally invasive, but acceptability amongst adolescents and their parents is unclear. This study aims to explore adolescent and parental acceptability of a text‐message programme designed to prevent adolescent e‐cigarette use.
Methods
Adolescents (12–15 years) and their parents were recruited as part of a larger factorial randomised controlled trial (RCT). Participants allocated to the intervention conditions received a series of 12 text‐messages addressing topics such as knowledge of harms, social norms, and refusal skills. At 6‐month follow‐up, participants answered four questions regarding the acceptability of the text‐messages.
Results
In a sample of 30 adolescents and 35 parents, most parents agreed the messages were acceptable (94%) and would recommend them to peers (91%). Amongst adolescents, 77% agreed the messages were acceptable and 73% would recommend them to peers.
Conclusions
These preliminary findings suggest text‐messages designed to prevent e‐cigarette use are acceptable to adolescents and their parents and represent a promising prevention strategy. Effectiveness of the programme on outcomes such as e‐cigarette use susceptibility will be explored through the RCT currently underway.
So What?
Text‐messages aiming to prevent adolescents from using e‐cigarettes represents an acceptable intervention for both adolescents and their parents, but effectiveness still needs to be established.