This paper is in the following e-collection/theme issue:

UConn CHASM 6th Annual Conference 2022: "Telehealth and Remote Care in a Post-Pandemic World" (54)
Preprints (earlier versions) of this paper are available at https://preprints.jmir.org/preprint/39424, first published .
Increasing Peer Support for Opioid Use Disorder Recovery During COVID-19 Through Digital Health: Protocol for a National Randomized Controlled Trial

Increasing Peer Support for Opioid Use Disorder Recovery During COVID-19 Through Digital Health: Protocol for a National Randomized Controlled Trial

Increasing Peer Support for Opioid Use Disorder Recovery During COVID-19 Through Digital Health: Protocol for a National Randomized Controlled Trial

Authors of this article:

Megan Ranney1, 2, 3 ;   Brandon D L Marshall4 Author Orcid Image ;   Kirsten Langdon5, 6 ;   Sarah Wiehe7 ;   Matthew Aalsma7 ;   Brendan Jacka4 ;   Alyssa Peachey4 ;   Francesca Beaudoin1, 1, 4
Article Authors Cited by Tweetations Metrics

    Abstract

    1Department of Emergency Medicine, Warren Alpert School Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, United States

    2Department of Health Services, Policy, and Practice, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, United States

    3Brown-Lifespan Center for Digital Health, Providence, RI, United States

    4Department of Epidemiology, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, United States

    5Department of Psychiatry, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI, United States

    6Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert School Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, United States

    7Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States

    *these authors contributed equally

    Corresponding Author:

    Megan Ranney, MD, MPH

    Department of Emergency Medicine

    Warren Alpert School Medical School of Brown University

    222 Richmond St

    Providence, RI, 02903

    United States

    Phone: 1 401 863 3330

    Email: megan_ranney@brown.edu


    Background: Increasing numbers of opioid overdoses have been observed during the COVID-19 pandemic, likely reflecting the pandemic’s multiple effects on this already vulnerable population. People in recovery from opioid use disorder (OUD) have reported disproportionate psychosocial distress and isolation, as well as significant disruptions in access to treatment, including peer support, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Peer support is a key component of many evidence-based OUD recovery programs; it improves recovery capital, treatment engagement, and perceived social support and reduces psychosocial distress, particularly when used in conjunction with other evidence-based treatments, such as medication for OUD.

    Objective: This study aims to evaluate a novel mobile peer support app platform among a national sample of individuals in recovery from OUD as an adjunct to usual care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Methods: Individuals residing in the United States who are aged ≥18 years; own a smartphone; and self-report being in recovery for an OUD, being in treatment for an OUD (ie, in the past 30 days received prescribed methadone, naltrexone, or buprenorphine), or currently receiving some form of assisted recovery support (n=1300) will be recruited through online, targeted social media advertisements. Eligible participants will be randomly assigned (1:1) to a mobile peer recovery support intervention utilizing a novel smartphone-based app or to a control. Participants will complete 1 baseline survey and then a follow-up survey 1, 3, and 6 months after randomization. The primary aim of recovery capital will be determined by the change in recovery capital between study groups over the 6-month study period. We will also examine treatment engagement by using administrative data from a subset of individuals (n=650) residing in Rhode Island and Indiana.

    Results: As of June 2022, we enrolled 43 participants.

    Conclusions: If this mobile app demonstrates efficacy among a large national sample of patients, it has the potential to augment existing treatment programs, improve recovery capital, and reduce the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 on this vulnerable population.

    Conflicts of Interest: None declared.

    Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05405712; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05405712

    iproc 2023;9:e39424

    doi:10.2196/39424

    Keywords

    opioid use disorder; mobile application; peer recovery 

    Edited by S Pagoto; This is a non–peer-reviewed article. submitted 09.05.22; accepted 21.12.22; published 31.01.23

    Copyright

    ©Megan Ranney, Brandon D L Marshall, Kirsten Langdon, Sarah Wiehe, Matthew Aalsma, Brendan Jacka, Alyssa Peachey, Francesca Beaudoin. Originally published in Iproceedings (https://www.iproc.org), 31.01.2023.

    This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in Iproceedings, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://www.iproc.org/, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.