Title: Quit IT: Preliminary Testing of a Web-based, 3D Coping Skills Game to Increase Quitting Self-Efficacy for Maintaining Smoking Abstinence Following Hospitalization
Principal Investigator: Jamie Ostroff, PhD, Chief, Behavioral Sciences Service, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Overview: The purpose of this study is to assess a web-based computer game to help smokers with cancer who are hospitalized at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to quit smoking. The game presents users with fictional characters in a series of scenarios modeled after real-world situations where it is difficult to avoid smoking. Participants will evaluate the situations and choose what they believe are the best coping strategies to deal with each scenario. Patients are randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group will receive usual care, which involves smoking cessation counseling sessions with a nurse who has expertise in helping patients to quit smoking. The second group receives the same smoking cessation counseling and also tries the online game. They learn how to play the game while in the hospital, and then will be asked to play it three to four times a week for the next month. Patients who do not have a tablet computer with Internet access will be provided with these tools. The goal is to compare the smoking cessation rates between the two groups to determine if the game helps increase the rate of quitting.