# A Personalized mHealth Approach to Smoking Cessation for Veterans Living with HIV

> **NIH VA IK2** · DURHAM VA MEDICAL CENTER · 2020 · —

## Abstract

Although smoking is a significant cause of damage to health and quality of life specifically for Veterans
with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), smoking cessation interventions for this population are lacking. Dr.
Wilson’s proposed CDA-2 projects will develop and test a mobile health (mHealth) intervention called Mobile
Contingency Management plus Evidence-Based Smoking Cessation for HIV-positive Veterans (MESH). The
MESH intervention uses mHealth and telehealth technology to a) individually personalize smoking cessation
counseling and pharmacotherapy, b) deliver reinforcement for smoking abstinence, and c) provide relapse-
prevention messaging support. It is a personalized, tailored, multi-component intervention for smoking
cessation specifically designed for Veteran smokers living with HIV. Specific aims are as follows:
 Aim 1: To qualitatively explore smoking cessation treatment preferences among Veteran smokers living
with HIV, and to quantitively evaluate perspectives on relapse-prevention messages among Veterans and
smokers living with HIV. We will complete N = 20 semi-structured interviews with VHA HIV patients (initial
treatment tailoring phase) and subsequently complete N = 400 quantitative rapid online surveys (secondary
user satisfaction data). Results will be used to refine design/content of the proposed intervention.
 Aim 2: To use a successive cohort design to develop and obtain patient feedback on an mHealth
smoking cessation intervention that uses computerized algorithms to personalize treatment. We will collect
qualitative data on 3 cohorts of n = 5 Veteran smokers with HIV. Results from each cohort will be iteratively
used to modify the MESH treatment design/content/user experience.
 Aim 3: To determine the feasibility and acceptability of MESH. After finalizing design of the mHealth
app, we will conduct a trial in which N = 30 Veteran smokers with HIV will be randomized to either MESH or to
a comparison condition (VA Quitline and SmokefreeVET). Outcomes include feasibility of the overall approach
and acceptability of the intervention. Tests of efficacy are not appropriate given power considerations and the
overall focus on treatment development. Results will be used in an IIR application in Year 3 of the timeline.
While the IIR design may change, I plan to propose a Hybrid Type 1 implementation-effectiveness design to
test effectiveness of the MESH intervention while collecting preliminary clinic-level implementation data.
 Aim 4: To quantitatively examine trends and determine health disparities in use of smoking cessation
aids among patients living with HIV and receiving VHA clinical care. I will leverage two large national VA
cohorts to compare smoking cessation pharmacotherapy prescriptions by demographic group and medical
comorbidity. I expect to detect disparities in pharmacotherapy prescription rates by medical comorbidity (e.g.,
pain, Hepatitis C coinfection) and demographic group (e.g., ethnicity). Results will enable...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9697187
- **Project number:** 5IK2HX002398-02
- **Recipient organization:** DURHAM VA MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Sarah Mosher Wilson
- **Activity code:** IK2 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-04-01 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9697187

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9697187, A Personalized mHealth Approach to Smoking Cessation for Veterans Living with HIV (5IK2HX002398-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9697187. Licensed CC0.

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