# Examining Tobacco Use Relapse among Cancer Survivors > **NIH NIH F31** · VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $42,972 ## Abstract PROJECT SUMMARY 1 Cancer survivors that use tobacco are at a greater risk of experiencing negative health outcomes. While many 2 cancer survivors quit using tobacco at time of diagnosis, available research demonstrates that many 3 relapse (e.g., 13-60%). The Social Ecological Model (SEM) provides a conceptual framework for 4 understanding the intrapersonal factors and interpersonal factors that may contribute to tobacco use relapse. 5 However, to date, few studies have identified intrapersonal and interpersonal predictors of tobacco use relapse 6 among this patient population. Further, these studies utilize survey designs that are unable to examine the 7 factors that immediately precede tobacco relapse. Thus, it is relatively unknown how intrapersonal and 8 interpersonal factors relate to tobacco relapse within the context of cancer survivorship in real-time. 9 The proposed study aims to address this critical gap and advance cancer prevention and control science 10 through using multiple survey methods (i.e., ecological momentary assessment, longitudinal survey) to 11 examine the momentary and long-term associations between intrapersonal factors (i.e., cancer worry, negative 12 affect), interpersonal factors (i.e., social support, social constraint), and tobacco relapse behavior. Cancer 13 survivors that demonstrate greater risk of relapse (e.g., newly diagnosed, recently quit using tobacco) (N=122) 14 will be recruited from VCU Massey Cancer Center and asked to complete a baseline survey and a 3-month 15 follow-up survey to examine intrapersonal and interpersonal predictors of tobacco use relapse (i.e., continued 16 tobacco use for > 7 days). A subset of 40 participants will also complete a 14-day ecological momentary 17 assessment (EMA) to investigate momentary intrapersonal and interpersonal predictors of greater tobacco 18 relapse risk (defined as higher urge to use tobacco and lower motivation to abstain from tobacco). Specifically, 19 the applicant aims to: (1) examine daily associations between intrapersonal factors (i.e., cancer worry, negative 20 affect) and tobacco relapse risk across a 14-day period; (2) examine daily associations between interpersonal 21 factors (i.e., social support, social constraint) and tobacco relapse risk across a 14-day period; and (3) examine 22 the association between baseline intrapersonal and interpersonal factors and tobacco use relapse at follow-up. 23 The proposed training goals for this NRSA fellowship are: (1) increase the applicant’s knowledge of the factors 24 that contribute to tobacco use and tobacco relapse among cancer survivors; (2) enhance training in advanced 25 quantitative statistical methods; and (3) improve translational research-related skills. This training plan involves 26 a variety of research, didactic and professional development-related activities that will facilitate the successful 27 completion of the proposed project and equip the applicant with the skillset needed to le... ## Key facts - **NIH application ID:** 10826836 - **Project number:** 1F31CA288120-01 - **Recipient organization:** VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY - **Principal Investigator:** Kendall Fugate-Laus - **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.) - **Funding institute:** NIH - **Fiscal year:** 2024 - **Award amount:** $42,972 - **Award type:** 1 - **Project period:** 2024-08-25 → 2026-08-24 ## Primary source NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10826836 ## Citation > US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10826836, Examining Tobacco Use Relapse among Cancer Survivors (1F31CA288120-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10826836. Licensed CC0. --- *[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*