Veterans get paid to quit smoking in new VA study
NCT ID NCT06432985
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests a program called Contingency Management that gives Veterans rewards for quitting smoking, verified by breath tests. Researchers will first gather feedback from Veterans and staff, then run a small pilot with 20 Veterans over 5 weeks. If successful, a larger trial will compare this mobile reward program to standard care. The goal is to help Veterans quit during lung cancer screening or cancer treatment.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 108 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jan 2025
- Expected to finish
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Sep 2031
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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A government agency
The lead sponsor is a US federal agency other than the NIH.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: In order to be eligible to participate in this study, an individual must meet all of the following criteria: * Human Subjects Involvement and Characteristics: This Proof of Concept and Clinical Trial has three stages. The Proof-of-Concept Phase (Years 1-2) includes a Focus Group phase (Year 1) in which the investigators will recruit both Veterans and non-Veterans (VA clinical staff); and a Pilot Study (Year 2) in which the investigators will recruit Veterans in LCS or cancer treatment at San Francisco VA Healthcare System (SFVAHCS). If the Pilot Study is successful, the investigators will recruit Veterans in LCS or cancer treatment for the RCT (Years 3-6). * Focus Groups: For Focus Groups (Year 1), the investigators will recruit both Veterans and VA clinical staff at SFVAHCS. Veterans: * Age 18 years or older * Veteran eligible for VA healthcare * English-speaking * Received SFVAHCS cancer monitoring or treatment or LCS within the past 24 months * Active cigarette smoking within the past 24 months * Have access to Wi-Fi and a device that supports audio and video communication VA Clinical Staff: * Current member of clinical staff at the SFVAHCS * Have participated in the care of at least 5 VA cancer or LCS patients in the past 6 months Pilot Feasibility Study (Year 2) and Randomized Controlled Trial Inclusion criteria: * Age 18 years or older * Veteran currently receiving medical care at SFVAHCS (at least one clinical visit same calendar year for cancer) * English-speaking * Current, active (same calendar year) enrollment in VA LCS, or current (same calendar year) diagnosis of cancer documented in the VA medical record, confirmed through medical record review * Current (past 30 days) cigarette smoking a minimum of 1 cigarette per day (average), assessed by Timeline Followback (TLFB)92, 99-101 * Open to receiving smoking cessation interventions Exclusion Criteria: Focus Groups: For Focus Groups (Year 1), the investigators will recruit both Veterans and VA clinical staff at SFVAHCS. Veterans: Exclusion criteria: Assessed by Co-PIs' medical record review: * Current severe, untreated mental illness (i.e., psychosis, bipolar disorder, and/or substance use disorder (SUD)) and/or * Current (past 30 days) active suicidal/homicidal ideation or severe behavioral instability that would prevent participation * Never smokers or quit smoking for longer than 36 months prior to consent (4) no access to Wi-Fi or devices that support audio and video communication VA Clinical Staff: Exclusion Criteria: * Unable to commit 1.5 hours (60 min focus group and self-report questionnaires) Pilot Feasibility Study (Year 2) and Randomized Controlled Trial Exclusion Criteria: * An individual who meets any of the following criteria will be excluded from participation in this study: * Evaluated by investigative team medical record review and clinical assessment: * Psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder, neurocognitive disorder, substance use disorders, or other psychiatric or medical conditions judged by the PI to be unstable in the past 30 days, based on screening results and/or medical record review, including conditions for which large sums of money would be potentially destabilizing * Untreated, current, active problem gambling, assessed by medical record diagnosis and/ or Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) score 8 * Metastatic cancer or enrollment in end of life/ palliative care * Unable to commit to time commitment required for participation * Currently pregnant or planning to become pregnant during the study (people of childbearing potential ages 18-55 who are pregnant or state that they plan to become pregnant during the study) * A suicide attempt or suicidal ideation with intent in the 30 days prior to enrollment * Concurrent enrollment in a tobacco cessation clinical trial
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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San Francisco VA Medical Center, San Francisco, CA
RECRUITINGSan Francisco, California, 94121-1563, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Modulating neural mechanisms of reward processing in tobacco users
- Effects of a brief Mindfulness-Based chatbot intervention (Mindbot) on mindfulness level and stress among cancer patients: a randomized controlled trial
- Évaluation de la détresse post-traumatique relative au cancer dans l'année suivant le diagnostic chez les patients et les aidants et identification de leurs attentes envers un accompagnement personnalisé
- Development and pilot implementation of a novel remote patient monitoring program for cancer patients initiating cancer-directed therapy: the SHIELD (Smart health integration for early life-saving detection)
- The promoting resilience in stress Management-Social needs (PRISM-SN) intervention for adolescents and young adults with cancer: a randomized controlled trial