# Assessing the effectiveness of virtual versus in-person peer-motivation smoking cessation interventions for youths and adults

> **NIH NIH U54** · MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $366,722

## Abstract

Research Project #2 – Summary
Assessing the effectiveness of virtual versus in-person peer-motivation smoking cessation
interventions for youths and adults
As the number one preventable killer in the United States, smoking is responsible for more than 480,000
premature deaths each year, including more than 41,000 from secondhand smoke. Health disparities related to
tobacco use are widening, and populations with the least income and education suffer the most. Given the
addictive nature of nicotine, smoking is a very difficult habit to break. A promising solution is providing
comprehensive and effective cessation services at the grassroots level, which requires evidence-based
community-owned programs.
During the past ten years, the “Communities Engaged and Advocating for Smoke-free Environments” (CEASE)
initiative partnership members have surveyed more than 6,000 individuals, designed and tested four phases of
community-based smoking cessation interventions (SCI), launched school-based prevention initiatives, and
mobilized activists to advocate for healthy policy changes. The proposed project is another community-based
participatory research (CBPR) which offers to capitalize on the long-term relationships we have established
through our extensive efforts in some of Baltimore’s poorest neighborhoods. We also propose to translate what
we learn to support other interventions for health and to disseminate our findings to serve as models for
underserved communities across the country.
We will continue working with our former partners and welcome new organizations to join the team to enhance
the capacity of the partnership. All activities will be based in the facilities allocated to the Community
Engagement Core and/or organized by this Core. The target communities are three underserved communities
in Baltimore where the main activities will be carried out in the following order: 1) A comprehensive
community survey will be conducted for needs assessment, asset mapping, and recruitment to the smoking
cessation interventions during the first 2 years of the project; 2) The virtual and enhanced in-person peer-
motivation smoking cessation interventions (developed as part of this project) will be tested and refined
through a prospective 3-arm (one community for each arm) cluster trial. Given the mixed-method
experimental research design, a wealth of qualitative and quantitative data will be collected from various
sources and using different tools, which will be used to further enhance the initiatives and inform policies.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9986911
- **Project number:** 5U54MD013376-02
- **Recipient organization:** MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Payam Sheikhattari
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $366,722
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9986911

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9986911, Assessing the effectiveness of virtual versus in-person peer-motivation smoking cessation interventions for youths and adults (5U54MD013376-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9986911. Licensed CC0.

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