PREVENTVAPESWISS · Transforming adolescent e-cigarette use prevention in Switzerland: Advancing understanding and delivering a co-designed, AI-enhanced digital school-based intervention

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Project objective

Tobacco industry efforts to reassert their influence via e-cigarettes (or ‘vaping’) and other nicotine products are jeopardising years of tobacco control success, with young people (aged 10-24 years) extremely vulnerable to becoming part of a new wave of nicotine-dependent users. While global rates of e-cigarette use among young people have rapidly increased, Switzerland reports dramatically higher rates with approximately 40% of 15-year-olds having ever used an e-cigarette. Effective prevention approaches are critical. The current research will transform Switzerland’s approach to adolescent e-cigarette, tobacco smoking, and other nicotine product use prevention through three research-focused work packages (WP): WP1 will identify clusters of Swiss adolescent e-cigarette, tobacco smoking, and other nicotine product use via a latent class analysis and involve citizen scientists to support interpretation of findings and recommendations; WP2 will use a mixed-methods approach to co-design with place-based end-users a school-based e-cigarette prevention program for Swiss adolescents based on the effective Australian 'OurFutures Vaping Program', with added cutting-edge features from Swiss digital chatbot-based programs ‘SmartCoach’ and ‘SmokefreeCoach’; and WP3 will pilot the new intervention with 4 lower secondary schools (n=300 students) in Switzerland to evaluate its acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy. The work plan also outlines crucial training and career development activities in advanced statistical methodology, including latent class analysis, open science, and strengthening transferable professional skills that will elevate the fellow's competitiveness and career trajectory. The fellow's research expertise in school-based digital substance use interventions complements the host's internationally recognised leadership in evaluating and developing theory-based prevention interventions.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

• STIFTUNG FUR SUCHT UND GESUNDHEITSFORSCHUNG · ZURICHCoordinatorSwitzerland

Links

• View on CORDIS
• DOI: 10.3030/101271831