Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41286988›Full record

ArticleBMC psychology2025

Efficacy of an instant messaging-based life-skills training program to prevent behavioral risk factors among adolescents in Europe: study protocol of a cluster-randomized controlled trial.

Severin Haug, Andreas Wenger, Eunate Arana-Arri, Maitane Barasoain, Ainara Vélez-Del-Burgo, Kleio Koutra, Ana Molina-Barceló, Teresa De Pablo-Pardo, Nikolai Kiselev, Nikolaos Boumparis and 8 more

Registry-linked trialAbstract readClinical Trial Protocol
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC psychology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06922201 (SUstaiNable inteRventions and Healthy behavIours for adoleScent Primary prEvention of Cancer With Digital Tools. Study 1), which is not on this map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT06922201 nanot yet recruitingnot on this map

SUstaiNable inteRventions and Healthy behavIours for adoleScent Primary prEvention of Cancer With Digital Tools. Study 1: SmartCoach

TypeinterventionalSponsorBiobizkaia Health Research InstituteRan2025 to 2028Enrolled3,500ConditionsCancerArmsSmartCoach
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Trial
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

18 authors.

Severin HaugSwiss Research Institute for Public Health and Addiction ISGF at Zurich University, Zurich, Switzerland. severin.haug@isgf.uzh.ch.
Andreas WengerSwiss Research Institute for Public Health and Addiction ISGF at Zurich University, Zurich, Switzerland.
Eunate Arana-ArriCruces University Hospital, Osakidetza, Barakaldo, Bizkaia, Spain.
Maitane BarasoainBiobizkaia Health Research Institute, Barakaldo, Bizkaia, Spain.
Ainara Vélez-Del-BurgoBiobizkaia Health Research Institute, Barakaldo, Bizkaia, Spain.
Kleio KoutraDepartment of Social Work, Hellenic Mediterranean University, Heraklion, Greece.
Ana Molina-BarcelóCancer and Public Health Research Unit, Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research in the Valencian Region, Valencia, Spain.
Teresa De Pablo-PardoCancer and Public Health Research Unit, Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research in the Valencian Region, Valencia, Spain.
Nikolai KiselevSwiss Research Institute for Public Health and Addiction ISGF at Zurich University, Zurich, Switzerland.
Nikolaos BoumparisSwiss Research Institute for Public Health and Addiction ISGF at Zurich University, Zurich, Switzerland.
Olivia StudhalterSwiss Research Institute for Public Health and Addiction ISGF at Zurich University, Zurich, Switzerland.
Michael P SchaubSwiss Research Institute for Public Health and Addiction ISGF at Zurich University, Zurich, Switzerland.
Liselot HuddersCenter for Persuasive Communication, Department of Communication Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Eline De KeyzerCenter for Persuasive Communication, Department of Communication Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Frans FolkvordPredictBy S.L., Barcelona, Spain.
Katrina ChampionThe Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use & The School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Andreas TriantafyllidisCentre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH), Information Technologies Institute, Thessaloniki, Greece.
SUNRISE consortium

Funding

European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation program Grant Agreement Nº 101136829.Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) 24.000008
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundOne of the most significant risk factors for cancer and several other adverse health outcomes is nicotine and tobacco use. Life-skills training programs conducted within the school curriculum are effective in preventing substance use, including nicotine and tobacco use, however, large-scale implementation is hindered by time, organizational and financial constraints. Providing life-skills training programs via smartphones may be a more economical and scalable approach. SUNRISE SmartCoach is the first life skills training program to use instant messaging and storytelling to present life-skills training in an emotional and engaging way. This study protocol outlines a cluster-randomized controlled trial testing the efficacy of SUNRISE SmartCoach among adolescents in eight European countries.

methodsA two-arm, parallel-group, cluster-randomized, controlled trial will be conducted to test the efficacy of SUNRISE SmartCoach in comparison to an assessment only control group. The study participants will be assessed at baseline and at follow-ups after 6 and 18 months. The fully automated program is based on social cognitive theory and aims to improve self-management skills, social skills, and resistance to addictive behavior. Participants in the intervention group will receive online feedback on their life skills via Smartphone, as well as individually tailored coaching dialogues via WhatsApp or Viber over four months, to improve life skills. Active program engagement will be stimulated by interactive features such as quiz questions, message- and picture-contests, and integration of a friendly competition in which program users collect credits with each interaction. Study participants will be 3,500 secondary and upper secondary school students between the ages of 14 and 17 years from eight European countries: Switzerland, Greece, Slovenia, Spain, Cyprus, Italy, Belgium, and Romania. The primary outcome criterion will be nicotine or tobacco use within 30 days preceding the follow-up assessment at month 18. Secondary outcomes include the use of other substances, such as alcohol and cannabis, social skills, perceived stress, healthy eating habits, and quality of life. DISCUSSION: This is the first randomized controlled study testing the efficacy of an instant messenger- and storytelling-based life-skills training program to prevent nicotine and tobacco use as well as other behavioral risk factors among adolescents. If this intervention approach proves to be effective, it could be easily implemented in various settings and could reach large numbers of young people in a cost-effective way.

trial registrationNCT06922201 (registration date: 2025-04-09).

Indexed as

Adolescent BehaviorSocial SkillsText MessagingAdolescentBehavior, AddictiveEuropeFemaleHumansMaleRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicRisk FactorsSmartphoneAdolescentsBehavioral risk factorsInstant messagingLife-skillsNicotinePreventionSmartphoneTobacco

Identifiers

PMID41286988
PMCPMC12641891

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.