# Project 1: Optimizing Smoking Cessation Treatment in Primary Care: A Factorial Screening Experiment (Cessation Screening)

> **NIH NIH P01** · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · 2020 · $826,732

## Abstract

Project Summary
Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of both premature deaths overall and cancer deaths in the US.
Most smokers visit a healthcare setting each year, providing an unequaled opportunity to intervene. Yet, most
smokers do not receive highly effective cessation treatment during their healthcare visits. To improve the
effectiveness of smoking treatment in healthcare, this project will identify especially promising medication
regimens and counseling modalities for use in primary care for the two most effective smoking cessation
pharmacotherapies: varenicline and combination nicotine replacement therapy (C-NRT). The criteria for
identifying promising varenicline and C-NRT treatments will include 1-year biochemically confirmed point-
prevalence abstinence and cost. Smokers (N=608) from primary care clinics, who want to quit smoking, will be
randomized to receive one of two levels of each of four factors: 1) Medication Type (Varenicline vs. C-NRT), 2)
Preparation Medication (4 weeks vs. Standard), 3) Medication Duration (Extended [24 weeks] vs. Standard [12
weeks]), and 4) Counseling Modality (In-Person vs. Phone). The proposed research builds on our expertise
and prior research findings to address a critical knowledge gap: i.e., how best to use the most effective
smoking cessation pharmacotherapies in real-world healthcare settings. This research will use an efficient and
innovative methodology (i.e., the Multiphase Optimization Strategy) to identify the most promising C-NRT and
varenicline-based treatments to use with primary care patients who smoke. These especially promising
(“optimized”) treatments will then be evaluated in a randomized clinical trial in the Optimized Care Project of
this Program Project.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9928016
- **Project number:** 5P01CA180945-07
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
- **Principal Investigator:** Megan E Piper
- **Activity code:** P01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $826,732
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9928016

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9928016, Project 1: Optimizing Smoking Cessation Treatment in Primary Care: A Factorial Screening Experiment (Cessation Screening) (5P01CA180945-07). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9928016. Licensed CC0.

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