Pilot Study of the YES-CAN! Program to Prevent Youth Nicotine Vaping
Pilot and Feasibility Testing of a Peer-led Program to Prevent Youth Nicotine Vaping: The YES-CAN! Program
Who can join
Ages 9 and older · All sexes · Healthy volunteers welcome
Full eligibility criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * Children enrolled in middle school grades 6-8 and high school grades 9-12 (age approximately 10-13 and 14-17); adults (over age 18) involved in educational system Exclusion Criteria: * Not able to read and write in English or Spanish
About the study
The goal of this pilot study is to determine the feasibility of a randomized trial of the YES-CAN! (Youth Engaged Strategies to Change Adolescent Norms) program to prevent nicotine vaping among adolescents. The program integrates the following evidence-based strategies: youth-adult collaboration; youth-developed narrative videos to convey health messages; peer leaders as change agents; and sustained implementation to change the normative environment. Two middle/high school communities will receive the YES-CAN! intervention. In each school community, a trained teacher will deliver a credit-earning middle or high school class to 25-30 middle or high school students, who will produce 6-8 short videos intended to increase refusal skills; promote stress management and positive coping; change social norms; prevent vaping initiation; and promote vaping cessation among current users. Videos will use a narrative approach and integrate known determinants of vaping. Middle or high school students will collaborate with the teacher and researchers to develop discussion guides and skills-building activities based on best practices for substance use prevention. In 6-8 sessions, middle or high school students will deliver their videos to all students in the associated middle school. A text messaging or other media component will reinforce and boost the effectiveness of the classroom sessions.
Aims for this pilot/feasibility study are:
1. To determine the feasibility and acceptability of implementing the YES-CAN! program 2. To determine the feasibility and acceptability of the research protocols that will be used in a future efficacy trial
What is being tested
- YES-CAN! program (behavioral)
Sponsor: University of Colorado, Denver · Participants: 1,166 · Started: Aug 15, 2024
Contact the study team
- Lori A Crane, PhD, MPH · Phone: 3037244385
- Nancy L Asdigian, PhD · Phone: 7203243748
Official record on ClinicalTrials.gov — NCT07009509
Locations in the U.S.
| Colorado | University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora |
Conditions
From ClinicalTrials.gov, data retrieved Oct 2, 2026. Each study sets its own eligibility; the study team decides who can join.