Preliminary evaluation of UP2UTeacher, a brief intervention addressing tobacco and nicotine use for high school
Melissa A Little1, Asal Pilehvari1, Indika Mallawaarachchi2
1University of Virginia, School of Medicine, Department of Public Health Sciences, Charlottesville, VA, USA; University of Virginia, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
Background:
Given the changing tobacco landscape and rates of tobacco and nicotine product (TNP) use among youth, there is a need for effective interventions that address all forms of currently available TNPs. The current study sought to evaluate the short-term impact of UP2U Teacher, a single session, universal group-based intervention delivered in schools that addresses all TNPs.
Methods:
High school students (N = 242) were provided with a pre- and immediate post-survey upon receiving UP2UTeacher. McNemar's test was used to assess pre-post changes in willingness among groups. Fixed-effects linear probability models estimated associations between intervention and product-specific perceived harm and addictiveness overall and by group.
Results:
Almost half of the students with a willingness to use TNPs and 28.2% of students who use TNPs transitioned to non-willing following the intervention (p's < 0.01). The intervention was also associated with increases in perceived harm and addictiveness across multiple products. In the overall sample, students reported higher post-intervention perceptions of harm for several products, including nicotine pouches, dissolvables, vaping, cigarillos, cigars, and hookah. Perceived addictiveness increased significantly for all products in the full sample. Stratified analyses showed that students with a willingness to use TNPs experienced the broadest changes in perceived harm and addictiveness, whereas students without a willingness to use TNPs exhibited minimal change in perceived harm and students who use TNPs showed selective increases. Sensitivity analyses yielded similar patterns, supporting the robustness of the findings.
Conclusion:
UP2UTeacher showed promise in reducing adolescents' willingness to use TNPs, suggesting it is a promising school-based TNP intervention.
Implications:
UP2UTeacher, a brief, single session group-based intervention, was associated with significant reductions in adolescents' willingness to use TNPs in a sample of 9th grade students. Changes in perceptions of harm and addictiveness were seen for the majority of TNPs as well as all adolescent by willingness and use groups (students without a willingness to use tobacco, students with a willingness to use tobacco, and students who use tobacco), suggesting that UP2UTeacher is a promising universal, brief intervention to address TNP perceptions and motivations in schools.
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