Adapting the Penny Chatbot for Perinatal OUD Patients: COPILOT (PENNY-COPILOT)

University of Pennsylvania

Status: Begins enrollment in 1 month

Conditions: Perinatal Opioid Use Disorder; Opioid Use Disorder

Treatments: Behavioral: Penny COPILOT

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT06969261

853729

R34DA058461 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Details and patient eligibility

About

To address both loneliness and engagement in perinatal and OUD care among perinatal women, the investigators plan to adapt an existing texting support chatbot, Penny, to make it appropriate for use by women who are pregnant and postpartum and dealing with OUD. The newly adapted chatbot, Penny COPILOT, will allow for two way short message service (SMS) messaging to respond appropriately and accurately to user generated input. The investigative team, in collaboration with the Penn Mixed Methods Research Lab (MMRL) and Penn's Way 2 Health Team, will use intervention mapping guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Science. The investigators will conduct a needs assessment, assemble an advisory board, engage in pretesting to ensure safety and refine content, and pilot test the resultant adapted Penny COPILOT in a sample of 20 perinatal women with OUD to evaluate acceptability, feasibility, and patient satisfaction. The goal is to develop and refine an acceptable, feasible, and satisfactory supportive texting chatbot to promote patient engagement in perinatal and OUD care and decrease perceived loneliness.

Enrollment: 20 estimated patients

Sex: Female

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Biological females who are currently pregnant or within 6 weeks postpartum.
• Able to read, write, and speak English at a 6th grade level.
• Diagnosed and receiving treatment for, or willing to receive treatment for opioid use disorder.
• Receiving prenatal care and OUD care at a Penn affiliated hospital.

Exclusion criteria

-Current untreated psychosis, mania, or active suicidality as assessed by the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI).

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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20 participants in 1 patient group

Chatbot Intervention

Experimental group

Description:

This is a single arm study designed to assess the acceptability and feasibility of the chatbot.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Penny COPILOT