Preventing Cigarette Use Among Urban Youth Via an M-Health Primary Care Preventive Intervention

Tobacco use remains a significant public health concern in the US, and youth are
disproportionately affected. Among high school youth , 38% report lifetime cigarette use, and
9.3% report having smoked a whole cigarette before the age of 13. In Southeast Michigan,
African-American youth are at disproportionate risk of engaging in tobacco use and
co-occuring substance use and other risk behaviors. To address these significant public
health concerns, we developed Storytelling 4 Empowerment (S4E), a targeted and tailored
mobile-health (mHealth) application (app) intervention to be delivered in health clinic
settings. The proposed research aims to develop culturally congruent and developmentally
appropriate modules focused on tobacco use prevention and risk reduction to be included as
part of the S4E mHealth app. The proposed research will also determine the preliminary
efficacy of S4E in reducing tobacco use, alcohol and other drug use, sexual risk behaviors,
and improving HIV/STI testing in a sample (n=50) of youth ages 13-21 living in Southeast
Michigan.

Inclusion Criteria:

- Female, Male, and Transgender adolescents

- Adolescents 13-21 years of age

- Adolescents must live in Southeast Michigan

- Adolescents must provide assent and consent

Exclusion Criteria:

- Report of a prior psychiatric hospitalization by adolescent or caregiver

- Adolescent reports (tentative or firm) plans to move out of the Southeast Michigan
area during the study.