This is a secondary data analysis of the social media recruitment for the Kick Vaping study. Kick Vaping is a single-arm pilot study assessing the feasibility and acceptability of a vaping cessation text messaging intervention for Latino young adults⁹. A community advisory board of Latino young adults guided the implementation of the Kick Vaping study. Study procedures were approved and monitored by the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) Institutional Review Board (protocol number STUDY00007630).

Between March and November 2023, three paid advertisements (one in English, one in Spanish exclusive to the United States, and one in Spanish exclusive to Puerto Rico) were launched using the Meta Ads platform, which serves ads to users on Facebook and Instagram. Key elements of audience targeting included ages 18–25 years, all genders, and the following interests: ‘electronic cigarettes’, ‘vape’, ‘Latin pop’, and ‘Latin music’. The advertisements invited Latino young adults to join a vaping cessation study by clicking on it. The advertisements included different images of Latino male and female young adults; images did not include e-cigarettes. The advertisements also stated that participants could earn up to $80 for being part of the study (Figure 1). Participant compensation modeled previous tobacco cessation studies with the Latino community^10,11. Interested individuals were directed to a website to fill in a contact form by clicking on the advertisements. The contact form, available in English and Spanish, collected the name, phone number, email, and preferred time to be contacted. The study team contacted individuals who filled in the form via phone and assessed them for study eligibility.

Individuals were considered eligible if they: 1) self-identified as Hispanic and/or Latino; 2) could read and speak English and/or Spanish; 3) were aged 18–25 years; 4) used electronic cigarettes at least one day per week within a typical week; 5) were interested in quitting vaping in the next 30 days; 6) had an active cellphone with unlimited text messaging capability; and 7) were willing to complete two study visits, over Zoom^® or a phone call, at baseline and at 12 weeks. Exclusion criteria were: 1) having used any tobacco products other than electronic cigarettes in the past seven days (including traditional cigarettes), 2) having a household member enrolled in the study, and 3) lived outside the US.

Eligible individuals were scheduled for a Zoom^® or phone call appointment. During the appointment, staff guided individuals through the process of written informed consent. The eligibility assessment and consent process were hosted in REDCap and are available in English and Spanish. Ineligible individuals were referred to the Wilmot Tobacco Cessation Center at the URMC if they were currently smoking cigarettes, and/or to the ‘This is Quitting’ program by the Truth initiative if they were currently vaping.

The baseline survey collected sociodemographic variables, including age, gender, sexual orientation, education level, marital status, and employment status. The survey also collected data on country of birth and language of preference. Vaping-related variables collected included type of vaping device (i.e. disposables, cartridges/pods, or tanks/refillable), use of marijuana in e-cigarettes, e-cigarette dependence, and if they made a quit attempt in the previous year. E-cigarette dependence was measured by the Penn State E-cigarette Dependence Index (PSECDI)¹². The PSECDI is a 10-item scale that assesses dependence through the frequency of use, time to first e-cigarette use of the day, waking at night to use, perceived difficulty quitting, cravings, urges, and withdrawal¹². PSECDI scores range from 0 to 20, with higher scores indicating greater e-cigarette dependence¹². The baseline assessment was hosted in REDCap and available in English and Spanish.

Feasibility and cost were assessed via the enrollment efficiency ratio and cost per enrollment. Enrollment efficiency was the ratio of the number of individuals enrolled to the number who completed the contact form. Cost per enrollment was the total amount spent on the advertisements divided by the number of individuals enrolled. For the baseline characteristics, frequencies and percentages were calculated for categorical variables and means and standard deviations for continuous variables.