Sarah Cha oversees all research and evaluation activities for the EX Program. She has over a decade of experience in developing and evaluating digital tools for tobacco use cessation, including websites, mobile apps, and text message-based programs. Cha has overseen recruitment of large clinical trials (combined 14K+ participants), including multiple NIH-funded R01s. She has served on the advisory committee of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco’s Health Equity Network since 2018. She received her Master of Science in Public Health in Health Education and Health Communication from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Loneliness is known to affect many aspects of health…but is it as deadly as smoking? Loneliness is described as a state of mind linked to wanting human contact but feeling alone. It is associated with serious medical conditions as well as higher rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide. In America, […]
When you explore interventions to quit smoking, you might see programs that claim to be “tailored” or specially designed for certain groups or populations. But are these programs more effective in enrolling and engaging individuals? As a councilmember of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco’s Health Equity Network, […]
Read More… from When Do Tailored Interventions to Quit Smoking Work Best?
With the recently proposed ruling from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), you may be wondering why menthol cigarettes are getting so much attention. Here’s why it’s a big deal, especially for health plans that serve priority populations. What is menthol? Menthol is a chemical added to many tobacco products […]
Read More… from Why “Ban” Menthol Cigarettes (and Why It Matters)
Have you ever talked about a group of employees using these phrases: “I think [a group of people] are foolish.” “Some people who [engage in a behavior] may be smart, but most of them aren’t.” “I dislike [a group of people].” Think these phrases are derogatory or judgmental? It might […]
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Wonder how to motivate someone to quit smoking, especially when they’re not ready to quit? The good news is most people who smoke do want to quit. But sometimes what it takes to motivate someone to quit isn’t the same thing that helps someone stay quit. This is why it’s […]
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Trial design A parallel, two-group individually-randomized controlled trial with 1:1 allocation compared the tailored text message program and companion web-based intervention for SDYA who smoke cigarettes with a usual-care control […]
Abstract Objective: This qualitative study explored whether evidence-based tobacco cessation treatment components can be deployed via web-based live chat coaching. Methods: N = 100 randomly selected chats were coded. Researchers […]
Abstract Importance e-Cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco product among young adults (YAs). Despite the harms of nicotine exposure among YAs, there are few, if any, empirically tested vaping cessation […]
Background Smoking remains a leading cause of preventable death and illness. Internet interventions for smoking cessation have the potential to significantly impact public health, given their broad reach and proven […]
Aims The cooling and minty flavor of menthol in cigarettes has been hypothesized to mask the harshness of inhaled cigarette smoke, contributing to menthol’s appeal and subjective reinforcement and linking […]
Background Millions of young adults currently vape electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), yet little research on vaping cessation interventions exists. Text messaging is a promising, scalable intervention strategy for delivering vaping cessation […]
Background Few Internet smoking cessation programs specifically address the impact of alcohol use during a quit attempt, despite its common role in relapse. This study used topic modeling to describe […]
Abstract Mental health problems like anxiety, depression, and substance use problems commonly co-occur with cigarette smoking and are linked to poor cessation outcomes. Although millions of smokers seek online quitting […]
Background Little is known about the influence of online peer interactions on health behavior change. This study examined the relationship between exposure to peer sentiment about nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) […]
Introduction Smoking causes about 20% of all deaths in the United States. The majority of smokers want to quit, and over 12 million turned to the internet for information about […]
Background Partial adherence in Internet smoking cessation interventions presents treatment and evaluation challenges. Increasing adherence may improve outcomes. Purpose To present smoking outcomes from an Internet randomized trial of two […]
Introduction User generated content (UGC) is a valuable but underutilized source of information about individuals who participate in online cessation interventions. This study represents a first effort to passively detect […]
Background Web-based smoking cessation interventions can deliver evidence-based treatments to a wide swath of the population, but effectiveness is often limited by insufficient adherence to proven treatment components. This study […]
Background and aims: Cogent arguments have been made against the need for biochemical verification in population-based studies with low-demand characteristics. Despite this fact, studies involving digital interventions (low-demand) are often […]
Read More… from Feasibility of Biochemical Verification in a Web-based Smoking Cessation Study
Background Previous analyses of Google search queries identified circaseptan (weekly) rhythms in smoking cessation information seeking, with Google searches for “quit” and “smoking” peaking early in the week. Similar patterns […]
Read More… from Weekly Enrollment and Usage Patterns in an Internet Smoking Cessation Intervention
Objective: Alcohol use and problem drinking are associated with smoking relapse and poor smoking-cessation success. User-generated content in online social networks for smoking cessation provides an opportunity to understand the […]
Background Delivering effective tobacco dependence treatment that is feasible within lung cancer screening (LCS) programs is crucial for realizing the health benefits and cost savings of screening. Large-scale trials and […]
Introduction Use of online social networks for smoking cessation has been associated with abstinence. Little is known about the mechanisms through which the formation of social ties in an online […]
Read More… from A Prospective Examination of Online Social Network Dynamics and Smoking Cessation
Introduction A challenge in Electronic Nicotine Delivery System (ENDS) research is how to refer to these devices in ways that are meaningful to current or potential users. The objectives of […]
Background The aim of this systematic review was to determine the effectiveness of Internet interventions in promoting smoking cessation among adult tobacco users relative to other forms of intervention recommended […]
Background Online health communities (OHCs) provide a convenient and commonly used way for people to connect around shared health experiences, exchange information, and receive social support. Users often interact with […]
Background The potential for sampling bias in Internet smoking cessation studies is widely recognized. However, few studies have explicitly addressed the issue of sample representativeness in the context of an […]
Introduction Millions of smokers use the Internet for smoking cessation assistance each year; however, most smokers engage minimally with even the best designed websites. The ubiquity of mobile devices and […]
Background Internet interventions may have an important role to play in helping self-quitters maintain an initial period of abstinence. Little is known about the characteristics and utilization patterns of former […]
Introduction Internet interventions can reach large numbers of individuals. However, low levels of engagement and high rates of follow-up attrition are common, presenting major challenges to evaluation. This study investigated […]
Background: Evidence from observational studies regarding the association between electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use and cessation is mixed and difficult to interpret. Utilizing 2 analytic methods, this study illustrates challenges common […]
Background Seasonal variations in smoking and quitting behaviors have been documented, with many smokers seeking cessation assistance around the start of the New Year. What remains unknown is whether smokers […]
Background Reducing smoking prevalence is a public health priority that can save more lives and money than almost any other known preventive intervention. Internet interventions have the potential for enormous […]
