Current Active Grants

Examining a Text Message Intervention for Smoking Cessation

Most smokers want to quit and nearly half attempt to quit each year. However, few actually succeed.  The problem is particularly acute among young adult smokers who tend to under-utilize existing smoking cessation services, and have limited access to health insurance and healthcare.  New, innovative approaches are needed that can reach out to younger adult smokers and help them quit.  Intervention delivery modalities that can be inexpensively delivered in an appealing format with wide reach are particularly compelling for treating younger smokers.  For this project we will develop and test a theoretically driven, evidence-based smoking cessation counseling intervention that can be delivered through SMS text messages.  Text messaging is popular with younger adults (<35 years), over half of whom use text messaging, often sending 50 or more messages per week.  Text messaging can be used to provide advice and interactive support adapted from evidence-based interventions for smoking cessation. However, thus far text messaging is an untapped medium and has been only rarely studied as an intervention delivery tool.  Existing studies have significant limitations which the proposed study will attempt to redress.

Principal Investigator: Beth Bock, PhD

Co-Investigators: Kathleen Morrow, PhD and Joseph Fava, PhD

Funding Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse

Dates: 2009-2011

The Sentinel Events Model: A Dynamic Model of Substance Use Cessation

This study will develop and validate the Sentinel Events Model, a new dynamic model of behavior change predicated on the observation that quit attempts using addictive substances are often preceded by the experience of negative consequence of use, such as health problems. We seek to better understand the cognitive and affective mechanisms of action that mediate between sentinel events and behavior change milestones. Our study uses an innovative measurement strategy: cellular telephone-based ecological momentary assessment to measure these constructs.

Principal Investigators: Beth Bock, PhD (Subcontract PI) and Edwin Boudreaux, PhD (Project PI)

Co-Investigator: Bruce Becker, MD, MPH

Funding Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse

Dates: 2008 - 2013

Wii ♥ Fitness: Study One

The primary goal of this pilot study is to examine the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary efficacy of a supervised program of exergames on markers of physical fitness and cardiovascular disease risk. Sedentary, prehypertensive adults will participate in a 12-week exergame program using Nintendo's Wii gaming platform. A trained research assistant will supervise all exercise sessions in which heart rate will be monitored throughout each session. Assessments will include measures of feasibility (e.g., attendance, study completion), acceptability (e.g., enjoyment, satisfaction), physical fitness, and cardiovascular disease risk (blood pressure, resting heart rate). Our primary outcomes are the feasibility and acceptability of using the Wii to meet the national recommendations for physical activity. Secondary outcomes include changes in fitness and cardiovascular risk indices. We will use descriptive techniques and repeated measures analyses to examine the within-group changes from pre- to post-intervention. If study hypotheses are supported, additional funding will be sought to rigorously test whether exergames are a viable physical activity program that provides enjoyment and variety to individuals at risk for hypertension and/or CVD.

Principal Investigators: Beth Bock, PhD and Eva Serber, PhD

Co-Investigators: Joe Ciccolo, PhD and Peter Tilkemeier, MD

Funding Agency: The Rhode Island Foundation and The Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine

Dates: 2009-2011

Yoga for Women Attempting Smoking Cessation

This study examines the feasibility and initial efficacy of yoga as an adjunct for smoking cessation treatment for women. Women smokers (n=60) will participate in a group-based CBT smoking cessation program and will be randomly assigned to either (1) a twice-weekly yoga program or (2) a wellness (contact control) program.

Principal Investigator: Beth Bock, PhD

Co-Investigators: Bess Marcus, PhD; David Williams, PhD; Bruce Becker, MD, MPH; Geoffrey Tremont, PhD; Kathleen Morrow, PhD; and Joseph Fava, PhD

Funding Agency:  National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Dates: 2007 - 2009