R01DA054236

Project Smart: Social Media Anti-Vaping Messages to Reduce ENDS Use Among Sexual and Gender Minority Teens - Project Summary

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth, inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals, are more likely to initiate vaping and currently vape than non-SGM youth in the United States. Vaping significantly increases the risks of initiating cigarette smoking and poly-tobacco use, leading to tobacco-related illnesses. The higher prevalence of vaping among SGM youth will therefore widen tobacco-related health disparities later in life.

Anti-vaping campaigns designed for the general youth population may not fully address SGM youths' underlying beliefs and attitudes toward vaping. There is a critical gap in research on evidence-based and culturally tailored interventions to reduce vaping initiation in the SGM youth population. Our long-term goal is to reduce tobacco use and tobacco-related health disparities among SGM populations.

The objective of Project SMART (Social Media Anti-Vaping Messages to Reduce ENDS Use Among Sexual and Gender Minority Teens) is to evaluate the effectiveness of an SGM-tailored social media intervention to prevent vaping initiation among SGM youth ages 13-18 years. Our central hypothesis is that culturally tailored anti-vaping social media messages will be more effective than non-tailored messages to prevent vaping initiation among SGM youth.

The scientific premise for this work is based on the principles of cultural tailoring in health communication for vulnerable populations, the health equity promotion model, and the message impact framework. We are developing and evaluating a social media intervention because SGM youth have a high rate of social media use and are more likely to go online for health information than non-SGM youth. Social media, moreover, are increasingly used for health promotion to address health disparities and well-being of SGM populations.

Our specific aims are:

1) Explore salient beliefs and cultural tailoring preferences related to vaping initiation among SGM youth to inform the development of social media anti-vaping messages.
2) Identify promising anti-vaping messages and cultural tailoring strategies to reduce vaping initiation among SGM youth.
3) Evaluate the effectiveness of repeated exposure to SGM-tailored anti-vaping social media messages on subsequent vaping initiation among SGM youth.

We are developing and evaluating a culturally tailored social media intervention using qualitative research methods and survey experiments. We will conduct rapid-cycle feedback with stakeholders, including SGM organization leaders, to provide input on the message design, testing, and intervention implementation to ensure feasibility and acceptability of the intervention.

Impact: Findings will provide evidence for the comparative effectiveness of an SGM-tailored anti-vaping social media intervention to reduce vaping initiation among SGM youth versus non-tailored messages. The study findings and approach will inform efforts to reduce disparities in vaping among SGM and other vulnerable youth populations.

Trustees Of The University Of Pennsylvania

TO SUPPORT BASIC AND CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCE, BIOMEDICAL, BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCE, EPIDEMIOLOGIC, HEALTH SERVICES AND HEALTH DISPARITY RESEARCH. TO DEVELOP NEW KNOWLEDGE AND APPROACHES RELATED TO THE PREVENTION, DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT, ETIOLOGY, AND CONSEQUENCES OF DRUG ABUSE AND ADDICTION, INCLUDING HIV/AIDS. TO SUPPORT RESEARCH TRAINING AND RESEARCH SCIENTIST DEVELOPMENT. TO SUPPORT DISSEMINATION OF RESEARCH FINDINGS. SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) LEGISLATION IS INTENDED TO EXPAND AND IMPROVE THE SBIR PROGRAMS TO EMPHASIZE AND INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPED THROUGH FEDERAL SBIR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, INCREASE SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN THE SBIR PROGRAM. THE LEGISLATION INTENDS THAT THE SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PROGRAM STIMULATE AND FOSTER SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION THROUGH COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CARRIED OUT BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, FOSTER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION.

93.279 - Drug Abuse and Addiction Research Programs

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) [HHS - NIH]

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 191046220 United States

Single Zip Code

Interventions to Prevent Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) Use Among Adolescents (R01 - Clinical Trial Optional) (RFA-DA-21-009)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 387% from $767,982 to $3,741,884.