Nix: A Vaping Cessation Solution
How might we encourage quitting among teen vapers?
This investigation aimed to investivgate teen vaping cessation models with intent to design and propose a new device or system. Nix is a behaviour-science-driven intervention designed to help teenagers quit vaping during the critical transitional period from high school to university. Grounded in the COM-B framework and Self-Determination Theory (SDT), Nix integrates mentorship, incentivization, and personalized insights to foster both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for cessation.
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Completed at
Completed at
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Completed at
Imperial College London
Imperial College London
Imperial College London
Date Completed
Date Completed
Date Completed
Dec, 2024
Dec, 2024
Dec, 2024
Final Project By
Final Project By
Final Project By
Amy Brons
Amy Brons
Amy Brons
Initial Concept Collaborators
Initial Concept Collaborators
Initial Concept Collaborators
Rayna Kishanchandani
David Sarlos
YiFay Tsi
Ty Han
Rayna Kishanchandani
David Sarlos
YiFay Tsi
Ty Han
Rayna Kishanchandani
David Sarlos
YiFay Tsi
Ty Han
Overview
Overview
Overview
Nix capitalizes on the unique receptiveness of teenagers during transitional periods, targeting high school seniors and first-year university students. The program promotes a cyclical model, where mentees who quit successfully transition into mentorship roles, creating a self-sustaining ecosystem. A randomized controlled trial across university campuses will evaluate Nix’s long-term impact on vaping rates. Nix represents an innovative and ethically grounded approach to addressing youth vaping. By blending behavioural science with empathetic design, this intervention empowers teens to lead healthier lives while contributing to public health and educational objectives.
Nix capitalizes on the unique receptiveness of teenagers during transitional periods, targeting high school seniors and first-year university students. The program promotes a cyclical model, where mentees who quit successfully transition into mentorship roles, creating a self-sustaining ecosystem. A randomized controlled trial across university campuses will evaluate Nix’s long-term impact on vaping rates. Nix represents an innovative and ethically grounded approach to addressing youth vaping. By blending behavioural science with empathetic design, this intervention empowers teens to lead healthier lives while contributing to public health and educational objectives.
Nix capitalizes on the unique receptiveness of teenagers during transitional periods, targeting high school seniors and first-year university students. The program promotes a cyclical model, where mentees who quit successfully transition into mentorship roles, creating a self-sustaining ecosystem. A randomized controlled trial across university campuses will evaluate Nix’s long-term impact on vaping rates. Nix represents an innovative and ethically grounded approach to addressing youth vaping. By blending behavioural science with empathetic design, this intervention empowers teens to lead healthier lives while contributing to public health and educational objectives.
1.Mentorship
1.Mentorship
1.Mentorship
Pairing high school mentees with university mentors who are ex-vapers provides role modeling and peer support. Through a stable-matching algorithm, mentees and mentors collaborate on personalized quitting plans, fostering a sense of autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
Pairing high school mentees with university mentors who are ex-vapers provides role modeling and peer support. Through a stable-matching algorithm, mentees and mentors collaborate on personalized quitting plans, fostering a sense of autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
Pairing high school mentees with university mentors who are ex-vapers provides role modeling and peer support. Through a stable-matching algorithm, mentees and mentors collaborate on personalized quitting plans, fostering a sense of autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
2.Incentives
2.Incentives
2.Incentives
A points-based marketplace rewards mentees and mentors for achieving goals and milestones, with points redeemable for real-life benefits. This feature leverages behavioural economics to encourage sustained engagement.
A points-based marketplace rewards mentees and mentors for achieving goals and milestones, with points redeemable for real-life benefits. This feature leverages behavioural economics to encourage sustained engagement.
A points-based marketplace rewards mentees and mentors for achieving goals and milestones, with points redeemable for real-life benefits. This feature leverages behavioural economics to encourage sustained engagement.
3.Insights
3.Insights
3.Insights
An optional hardware tracker attached to vape devices monitors usage patterns, enabling data-driven goal setting and fostering mindfulness around consumption triggers.
An optional hardware tracker attached to vape devices monitors usage patterns, enabling data-driven goal setting and fostering mindfulness around consumption triggers.
An optional hardware tracker attached to vape devices monitors usage patterns, enabling data-driven goal setting and fostering mindfulness around consumption triggers.
Process
Process
Process
Discovery: Discovery commenced via extensive literature review, followed by demographic research and brainstorming techniques. Some of brainstorming techniches used included the use of mind maps, HMW questions, and 5W+1H. Demographic research consisted of inital user interviews, and literature reviews.
Definition: The definition phase followed by defining of key features through the lenses of behaviour science and user insight. AACTT was used to define a user persona, which was able to be applied to intervention frameworks. Background research also allowed for a clear definition of the gap: transitional periods are proven as great opportunities to introduce behaviour changes, where individuals tend to be more receptive to suggestion. There are 366,000 students in the UK that go through a high school to university transition each year, which presents a large total addressable market (TAM). Market gap exploration and competitive analysis closed the definition phase, as other vape cessation apps were analysed and compared.
Development: The COM-B framework defines various intervention functions as motivational enhancements. Modelling and incentivisation were identified on the wheel as key intervention functions. Modelling provides an example of behaviour for users to aspire to, which is linked to research outlining the effects of peer mimicry on vape-rates, and supported by user insights on the power of peers on nicotine consumption. Incentivization is supported by research outlining intervention success through incentive introduction. Self-Determination Theory (SDT) is based on three elements; autonomy, competence, and relatedness. The inclusion of SDT is strongly influenced by background knowledge of teen’s resistance to authority, and the failure of school-based interventions. Research lends validity to the inclusion of SDT principles in behaviour change.
Delivery: An app with three pillars came to delivery: mentorship, incentivisation, personalised insights. This app comes with an optional physical tracking ring.
Implementation: CFIR sorts contextual barriers and enablers into 5 domains; intervention characteristics, outer setting, inner setting, characteristics of individuals, and implementation processes. This structure is complimented ERIC, which offers 73 strategies for overcoming these barriers. All domains of CFIR were considered in this implementation plan. Three barriers stood out as top importance of consideration, which are peer pressure and social influence, culture and organizational climate, and engaging and executing. Using ERIC to overcome these barriers, success can be acheived in this implementation of this project.
Evalution: The evaluation of Nix’s efficacy will be measured using randomized controlled effectiveness trails. In the years following the launch of Nix, university campuses will selected at random to examine determine the cause and effect of the intervention. This evaluation will measure effectiveness by analysing vape rate usage across campus. Campuses were high levels of ex-participants attend university should see a much lower rate of vape use, as opposed to other locations. This evaluation will start one and a half years after launch, to examine participants after program exit. Ideally, this study would be longitudinal to determine if abstinence is maintained through to graduation and beyond.
Discovery: Discovery commenced via extensive literature review, followed by demographic research and brainstorming techniques. Some of brainstorming techniches used included the use of mind maps, HMW questions, and 5W+1H. Demographic research consisted of inital user interviews, and literature reviews.
Definition: The definition phase followed by defining of key features through the lenses of behaviour science and user insight. AACTT was used to define a user persona, which was able to be applied to intervention frameworks. Background research also allowed for a clear definition of the gap: transitional periods are proven as great opportunities to introduce behaviour changes, where individuals tend to be more receptive to suggestion. There are 366,000 students in the UK that go through a high school to university transition each year, which presents a large total addressable market (TAM). Market gap exploration and competitive analysis closed the definition phase, as other vape cessation apps were analysed and compared.
Development: The COM-B framework defines various intervention functions as motivational enhancements. Modelling and incentivisation were identified on the wheel as key intervention functions. Modelling provides an example of behaviour for users to aspire to, which is linked to research outlining the effects of peer mimicry on vape-rates, and supported by user insights on the power of peers on nicotine consumption. Incentivization is supported by research outlining intervention success through incentive introduction. Self-Determination Theory (SDT) is based on three elements; autonomy, competence, and relatedness. The inclusion of SDT is strongly influenced by background knowledge of teen’s resistance to authority, and the failure of school-based interventions. Research lends validity to the inclusion of SDT principles in behaviour change.
Delivery: An app with three pillars came to delivery: mentorship, incentivisation, personalised insights. This app comes with an optional physical tracking ring.
Implementation: CFIR sorts contextual barriers and enablers into 5 domains; intervention characteristics, outer setting, inner setting, characteristics of individuals, and implementation processes. This structure is complimented ERIC, which offers 73 strategies for overcoming these barriers. All domains of CFIR were considered in this implementation plan. Three barriers stood out as top importance of consideration, which are peer pressure and social influence, culture and organizational climate, and engaging and executing. Using ERIC to overcome these barriers, success can be acheived in this implementation of this project.
Evalution: The evaluation of Nix’s efficacy will be measured using randomized controlled effectiveness trails. In the years following the launch of Nix, university campuses will selected at random to examine determine the cause and effect of the intervention. This evaluation will measure effectiveness by analysing vape rate usage across campus. Campuses were high levels of ex-participants attend university should see a much lower rate of vape use, as opposed to other locations. This evaluation will start one and a half years after launch, to examine participants after program exit. Ideally, this study would be longitudinal to determine if abstinence is maintained through to graduation and beyond.
Discovery: Discovery commenced via extensive literature review, followed by demographic research and brainstorming techniques. Some of brainstorming techniches used included the use of mind maps, HMW questions, and 5W+1H. Demographic research consisted of inital user interviews, and literature reviews.
Definition: The definition phase followed by defining of key features through the lenses of behaviour science and user insight. AACTT was used to define a user persona, which was able to be applied to intervention frameworks. Background research also allowed for a clear definition of the gap: transitional periods are proven as great opportunities to introduce behaviour changes, where individuals tend to be more receptive to suggestion. There are 366,000 students in the UK that go through a high school to university transition each year, which presents a large total addressable market (TAM). Market gap exploration and competitive analysis closed the definition phase, as other vape cessation apps were analysed and compared.
Development: The COM-B framework defines various intervention functions as motivational enhancements. Modelling and incentivisation were identified on the wheel as key intervention functions. Modelling provides an example of behaviour for users to aspire to, which is linked to research outlining the effects of peer mimicry on vape-rates, and supported by user insights on the power of peers on nicotine consumption. Incentivization is supported by research outlining intervention success through incentive introduction. Self-Determination Theory (SDT) is based on three elements; autonomy, competence, and relatedness. The inclusion of SDT is strongly influenced by background knowledge of teen’s resistance to authority, and the failure of school-based interventions. Research lends validity to the inclusion of SDT principles in behaviour change.
Delivery: An app with three pillars came to delivery: mentorship, incentivisation, personalised insights. This app comes with an optional physical tracking ring.
Implementation: CFIR sorts contextual barriers and enablers into 5 domains; intervention characteristics, outer setting, inner setting, characteristics of individuals, and implementation processes. This structure is complimented ERIC, which offers 73 strategies for overcoming these barriers. All domains of CFIR were considered in this implementation plan. Three barriers stood out as top importance of consideration, which are peer pressure and social influence, culture and organizational climate, and engaging and executing. Using ERIC to overcome these barriers, success can be acheived in this implementation of this project.
Evalution: The evaluation of Nix’s efficacy will be measured using randomized controlled effectiveness trails. In the years following the launch of Nix, university campuses will selected at random to examine determine the cause and effect of the intervention. This evaluation will measure effectiveness by analysing vape rate usage across campus. Campuses were high levels of ex-participants attend university should see a much lower rate of vape use, as opposed to other locations. This evaluation will start one and a half years after launch, to examine participants after program exit. Ideally, this study would be longitudinal to determine if abstinence is maintained through to graduation and beyond.
User Interviews
User Interviews
User Interviews
Users that aligned with target demographic were approached to participate in semi-structured interview, adding user insights to this process. Five individuals (n=5) were recruited using personal contacts. Various questions regarding vape consumption, trends, habits and cessation attempts were asked. Two users interviewed were recent university graduates, who were active vapers during high school and able to quit in university. All users noted that they usually vaped in social scenarios, with some noting that they vaped the most during periods of stress. Generally, device sharing and peer influence was a primary influence on respondent behaviour. Two participants noted that the desire to try new flavours, colours, and packaging. One interviewee listed their reason for quitting as removal from a vape-centric social circle, while the other noted that they experienced illness related to vape consumption.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Conclusion
Nix puts forth an evidence-based intervention to effectively reduce vaping among young people. This meets the design challenge by leveraging the COM-B framework to identify the key drivers of behaviour change; and build an intervention accordingly. SelfDetermination Theory guides the student’s through their cessation journey by fostering intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Nix also engages in deep personalization of goal setting, reward gathering, and mentorship matching to ensure satisfaction and an inclusive platform.
Nix puts forth an evidence-based intervention to effectively reduce vaping among young people. This meets the design challenge by leveraging the COM-B framework to identify the key drivers of behaviour change; and build an intervention accordingly. SelfDetermination Theory guides the student’s through their cessation journey by fostering intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Nix also engages in deep personalization of goal setting, reward gathering, and mentorship matching to ensure satisfaction and an inclusive platform.
Nix puts forth an evidence-based intervention to effectively reduce vaping among young people. This meets the design challenge by leveraging the COM-B framework to identify the key drivers of behaviour change; and build an intervention accordingly. SelfDetermination Theory guides the student’s through their cessation journey by fostering intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Nix also engages in deep personalization of goal setting, reward gathering, and mentorship matching to ensure satisfaction and an inclusive platform.
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