Considering leaving a quit-vaping study: clarify the process with the team

Find the contact responsible for participation questions

Use the study’s actual participation information, not an unrelated forum or a recruitment advertisement for another project. Identify the team contact and any separate participant-concerns contact listed. You can ask about leaving before writing a lengthy explanation of why the arrangement no longer fits.

OHRP’s informed-consent guidance describes voluntary decisions about continuing or withdrawing from research. Its FAQ includes historical regulatory references and is not a ruling about your individual study. Ask the team for the current process that applies to the participation you agreed to.

US Department of Health and Human Services — OHRP: Informed Consent FAQs

Name the separate questions

Ending future activities, keeping an appointment and handling previously collected data may be separate matters. Ask what each would involve. Do not assume that withdrawing automatically deletes all information or that missing a questionnaire communicates a withdrawal request to the responsible person.

A hypothetical inquiry says: “I want to discuss ending participation. Please explain how I notify the team, what happens to data already collected, and whom I contact about any care arrangements.” The message is an administrative starting point, not an instruction to stop a prescribed treatment.

Clarify care continuity with the appropriate professional

Research and professional care can overlap, but one does not automatically replace the other. Ask the study team and your responsible care contact who handles any implications of leaving. This guide cannot decide whether a visit, procedure or treatment should continue, change or stop.

If the practical difficulty is transport or scheduling, you may also ask whether an approved alternative exists. An alternative remains unconfirmed until the team explains it. You do not need to accept a proposed change simply to avoid disappointing a recruiter or maintaining a study’s completion count.

US Department of Health and Human Services — OHRP: Questions to Ask About Volunteering for a Research Study

Keep a factual record of the response

Save what you asked, who replied and what they confirmed. Mark unresolved questions separately. A message received is not necessarily a completed withdrawal process; ask for clarification if the reply does not explain your status.

Leaving research is not a measure of whether your quitting effort was worthwhile. Keep your personal goal and available ordinary support in view while addressing the study questions. This worksheet cannot guarantee data deletion, payment, future access or a particular outcome; those depend on the actual study and applicable arrangements.