Contingency Management for Veteran Smokers Undergoing Major Elective Surgery

The goal of this study is to design and test the first mobile contingency management (CM) smoking cessation intervention for military Veterans undergoing major elective surgery. Smoking is the leading risk factor for postoperative complications and is associated with longer hospital stays, reoperations, and 30-day mortality. Smoking rates among patients undergoing major elective surgery are high, 22.3-43.0%. It is imperative to identify efficacious, strategically timed smoking cessation interventions for surgery patients.

CM incentivizes smoking cessation through positive reinforcement (rewards) when bioverified abstinence is achieved. To ensure feasibility, CM must be tailored to the clinical context. CM for smoking cessation has never been delivered before and after major surgery, nor has mobile CM bioverification been trialed perioperatively. The investigators will develop and test a tailored mobile smoking cessation CM protocol for Veterans undergoing major elective surgery.

Major elective surgery is common among Veterans and smoking is the most significant modifiable risk factor for perioperative morbidity and mortality. Major elective surgeries, including general, thoracic, vascular, urologic, spinal, orthopedic, and other surgeries, are common in the Veterans Affairs (VA) Healthcare System, with over 600,000 surgical procedures occurring annually across the VA. Reducing complications and death after major elective surgery is a top priority, both for Veterans and the general population. Smoking at the time of surgery is the single greatest risk factor for complications, reoperation, and death. The relative risk (RR) of death is 1.53 times higher in the 30 days after major surgery in smokers compared to non-smokers. Smoking before all types of surgeries is associated with postoperative pneumonia, prolonged intubation, myocardial infarction, stroke; infections, sepsis, and poor wound healing; and repeat procedures. Smoking at the time of surgery has additive risk of postoperative mortality when patients have other modifiable risk factors such as poor nutritional status, hyperglycemia, and alcohol use.

Contingency management (CM) is an efficacious, scalable behavioral intervention for smoking cessation in patients with tobacco use disorder (TUD). CM is a behavioral treatment that uses positive reinforcement to incentivize behavior change by delivering financial rewards (i.e., vouchers, cash equivalent) when the target behavior is achieved and biologically verified. It is feasible for Veterans with substance use disorder (SUD) and has been implemented widely across the VA. However, the CM protocol still needs to be tested out and evaluated to tailor for the clinical population.

The investigators will develop and test a tailored mobile smoking cessation contingency management (CM) protocol for Veterans undergoing major elective surgery. First, the investigators will adapt a CM protocol for delivery over 5 weeks using mobile CO monitoring in the perioperative period. To ensure acceptability, the investigators will consult with a Community Advisory Panel (CAP) of Veteran patient advocates; CM and surgery content experts; and VA policymakers on CM methods, timing, and delivery. The investigators will then conduct a pilot randomized-controlled trial (RCT) in which 36 Veteran smokers undergoing major elective surgery (general, spinal, thoracic, vascular, urological, gynecological, orthopedic, or gender-affirming) will be randomized to receive the 5-week perioperative mobile CM (n=18) or 5-week of treatment as usual (TAU, VA Tobacco Cessation Clinic and Quitline) (n=18). Participants in both conditions will receive pharmacotherapy. This study will demonstrate proof-of-principle of CM delivery perioperatively.

The aims of the study are as follows:

Aim 1: To develop a mobile CM smoking cessation protocol to be integrated into VA surgical settings.

Aim 2: To assess the feasibility of smoking cessation CM for VA surgery patients, measured by 1) Recruitment (ability to recruit ≥70% of the sample), 2) Engagement (≥50% of CM participants completing ≥25% of CM sessions and ≥25% of CO video uploads), and 3) Retention (measure completion in ≥60% of all participants at Week 5 (Study End)).

Aim 3: To compare CM with TAU on improving smoking cessation outcomes (quit attempts, cigarettes per day, and nicotine dependence severity) at Study End (Week 5).

Exploratory Aim: To measure cigarette abstinence in both conditions.