Perceived research burden of a novel therapeutic intervention: A study of transcranial magnetic stimulation for smoking cessation.
Alina Shevorykin, Ellen Carl, Amylynn Liskiewicz and 8 others
PMID 36937103WHAT IT FOUND
Longer or more frequent rTMS sessions did not make the study feel more burdensome to 51 smokers who finished before the pandemic.
They expected more burden than they experienced.
Key findings
01Duration, intensity, active or sham rTMS, race, and income did not affect perceived research burden scores.
02Anticipated research burden at baseline was higher than experienced research burden.
03Most outcome assessments were completed, including 86.7% of the final 6-month assessment.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
Only 51 participants were included, about 20% of the parent study's recruitment goal, and all had completed before March 20, 2020. The study measured perceived burden, not smoking cessation success, safety, or rTMS efficacy. Participants were screened for TMS safety and had to be motivated to quit, so people who found the study too burdensome may have been removed before the burden score was taken. The PeRBA is a self-report tool originally designed for cancer clinical trials, and compensation, research staff contact, scheduling, and other supports were not separated in the analysis. Pandemic-era burden was not measured, because the authors excluded participants after March 20, 2020.
Declared interests
This research was funded by the National Cancer Institute (5R01CA229415). The authors state the content is solely their responsibility and does not necessarily represent National Cancer Institute or National Institutes of Health views. No commercial rTMS sponsor or other conflict of interest is reported in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that rTMS helps people quit smoking. This study measured perceived research burden, not abstinence, and only 51 participants who completed before the pandemic were included.