Characterizing ENDS use in young adults with ecological momentary assessment: Results from a pilot study.

Introduction:
This text discusses a study that aimed to determine the feasibility of using Ecological Momentary assessment (EMa) to assess electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) use in young adults. The study also explored the concordance of EMa data with survey items measuring frequency and quantity of ENDS use, and the relationship between EMa items measuring frequency and quantity of ENDS use with ENDS dependence and saliva cotinine.

Key Points:

* The study recruited 50 young adult ENDS users who completed baseline surveys, EMas, and follow-up questionnaires over a 14-day period.
* Completion rates for prompted EMas were 68%, with daily diary EMas having a higher completion rate (75.2%) than random (65.2%) and event-based EMas (not reported).
* Correlations between EMa measures assessing ENDS use ranged from weak to strong, and EMa to follow-up items ranged from weak to moderate.
* Significant associations were found between ENDS use measured via random and daily diary EMas and saliva cotinine at follow-up after controlling for cigarette smoking, but not for event-based EMas.
* Items measuring frequency/quantity of use from random EMas were consistently associated with ENDS dependence at baseline.
* The study is one of the first to document the success or failure of using EMa to collect real-time ENDS use data in a young adult population.
* There is little research on saliva cotinine as biochemical verification of nicotine use in ENDS products, and this study aimed to address this research question.

Main Message:
The study found that EMa represents a promising methodology to capture real-time ENDS use behaviors, primarily through daily diary and random EMas. The use of EMa to assess ENDS use in young adults has the potential to provide valuable insights into differences in behavior and factors associated with behavior over time. however, the study also highlights the need for further research to improve the success of using event-based EMas to measure ENDS use. additionally, the study addresses the research question of saliva cotinine as biochemical verification of nicotine use in ENDS products, providing important information for regulatory matters.

Cooper MR, Case KR, hébert ET, et al. Characterizing ENDS use in young adults with ecological momentary assessment: Results from a pilot study. addictive Behaviors. 2019;91:30-36. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.11.024