Information Interventions to Reduce Vaping in a Student Population

Participants will be allocated to one of two experimental groups using a blocked randomization method; participants will be randomized within blocks such that an equal number are assigned to each treatment. Allocation proceeds by randomly selecting one of the orderings and assigning the next block of participants to study groups according to the specific sequence. Once participants are allocated to one block, each block will be randomly assigned to one of the two interventions. Participants will be randomly divided into one of two blocks (A or B), each containing a maximum of 75 participants. Possible treatment allocations within each block are (1) AABB, (2) BBAA, (3) ABAB, etc. This method ensures equal treatment allocation within each block. Each participant will then be assigned an ID number that will represent the participants' block as well as the participants' individual participant ID number (i.e., Participant '100-123' would be in the same group as participant '100-124'). Participants will be provided the participants' ID number via email by the SI when the LOI/C is signed by the study team and sent back to the participant. Groups will be randomly allocated to an intervention group and an Excel file will be used to organize participants into subsequent groupings and keep track of questionnaire submissions. Since the total number of participants is 150, the investigators chose the block randomization method to assign groups equally because it is short enough to prevent imbalance and long enough to prevent guessing allocation in trials. Within the study timeline, the investigators plan to implement the block randomization schema following pre-screening and informed consent processing. To avoid the presence of stratification errors the investigators further plan to review the allocation design before administering study intervention and purpose-questionnaires to prevent participant mismanagement during the protocol. At baseline, purpose-questionnaires will be distributed to both groups to assess the participants' history and experience with vaping and measure the participants' intention to vape less along with the "baseline self-reported questionnaires" that will be administered on Day 1 to all participants. At Day 7 (T1), respective participants will be emailed an attached video link and the questionnaires and be instructed to complete the surveys immediately after watching the video. The study intervention will be a single site trial delivered as a video link to the email provided by the participant; both intervention videos will play on YouTube. The participants will complete self-reported questionnaires at 3 follow-up periods after baseline in the 6-week protocol (all questionnaires will be sent by the student investigator (SI) to the email provided by the participants). Self-reported vaping behaviour questionnaires will be managed at baseline, Day 7 (T1), Day 30 (T2), and Day 45 (T3). All interventions will be created using the Qualtrics Survey Software and will be distributed to the email provided by the individual participants.

The Protection motivation theory is a theory that helps to clarify fear appeals. The protection motivation theory proposes that the participants choose to commit to certain behaviours for self-protection based on four factors: the perceived severity of a threatening event, the perceived probability of the occurrence, or vulnerability, the efficacy of the recommended preventive behaviour, and the perceived self-efficacy. Within the study design, participant groups are one of two treatment conditions: PMT present or PMT absent (attention control). The PMT present group will include an 8-minute informational video that explains the current research and health risks associated with vaping, within the context of a threat appraisal focus (Perceived Vulnerability and Perceived Severity). During this video intervention, the severity of vaping among young adult populations, incorporating both the short and long-term health effects will be presented. In addition, the negative impact of vaping and the lack of research and information that currently exists on popular vaping products will be brought to light, including the potentially devastating impact it can have on the health of young adults. The PMT absent group will feature an 8-minute nutrition and lifestyle information video as an attention control strategy in this study. During this video intervention, the general risks and benefits of nutrition and lifestyle choices will be presented. The focus of this video will be on how a balanced diet and proper lifestyle choices (i.e., adequate sleep) can benefit the participants lives in the short-term and long-term. In regard to lifestyle choices, the topic of substance abuse will be discussed briefly but without depth or research. The reason for the nutrition and lifestyle information group control intervention is because it provides informative lifestyle choices that can help promote the participants overall health without having an underlying link to vaping behaviour, separating and illustrating the impact of the specific information provided by the threat appraisal PMT, compared to general nutrition and lifestyle advice on overall vaping intention and behaviour of a Canadian student population of mostly young adults. Within the study procedures, the investigators acknowledge the potential impact retrospective questionnaires may have on participants; in the study design the investigators expect there to be a change in intention to vape as a result of the intervention, specifically in the PMT group, however, the investigators do not expect the questionnaires alone to cause statistically significant change to participant behaviour-intention or action-behaviour.

If the Principal Investigator (PI) and Student Investigator (SI) determine safe behaviour is not being practiced and/or the participant is not in a stable psychological state, the SI will email the respective participant(s) privately and explain that the participants should only continue to participate in this study if the participants feel safe and psychologically sound. The contact information of a clinical psychologist, Dr. Lisa Lee, and the Counselling Service of London, specialized in anxiety therapy and self-esteem counselling, both as part of the study team, will be included in this email or provided to participants upon request, along with the Center for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) distress phone number. The role of Dr. Lee and the Counselling Service of London are to work as a mental health resource for participants in cases that the PI and SI deem the participant is not practicing safe behaviour/in a stable psychological state and in circumstances where the participant requests additional aid from the study team. All participants will also be reminded to contact the participants' respective university health centre resources. In extreme cases, if the SI and PI recognize a participant is continuing to not practice safe behaviour or maintain a stable psychological state, the participant will be withdrawn from study participation and the contact information for Dr. Lee, the Counselling Services of London, and the CAMH distress line will be provided to the participant again, advising the participants to call, email, or text the health and wellness centre for additional aid.