RecruitingNot Applicable

Sustaining Recovery for People on Opioid Agonist Treatment With Conversational Agents

United States100 participantsStarted 2025-10-30

Plain-language summary

This study aims to improve retention in buprenorphine treatment, a medication used for opioid use disorder, through the use of a smartphone-delivered recovery support intervention. The intervention involves an Embodied Conversational Agent (ECA), a virtual, animated computer agent designed to simulate natural face-to-face conversations. ECAs have been shown to help individuals manage their healthcare in other settings, and this study seeks to evaluate their potential in supporting patients on medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD).

Who can participate

Age range18 Years

SexALL

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Inclusion Criteria: * Diagnosis of Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) * Within 30 days of intake at recruitment site (BMC OBAT) * Possession of a smartphone that has minimum requirements * English-speaking and reading * Willing to release electronic health record (EHR) data * Able to provide at least two alternate contacts who usually know how to get in touch with them * Currently prescribed buprenorphine from an outpatient clinic Exclusion Criteria: * Incarceration anticipated within 12 months of enrollment * Inability to comprehend the study protocol, defined as failing three times to answer correctly a set of questions during the consent process * Inability to use the ECA app (i.e., due to markedly limited visual or auditory acuity or motor function required to interact with the ECA)

What they're measuring

Number of participants that stay engaged in buprenorphine treatment

Timeframe: 12 months

Trial details

NCT IDNCT06732596

SponsorBoston Medical Center

Sponsor typeOTHER

Study typeINTERVENTIONAL

Primary completion2026-12

Contact for this trial

Karsten Lunze, MD MPH DrPH

617 414 6933 karsten.lunze@bmc.org