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NCT Number: NCT07724275

Understanding Pathways to Wellness and Recovery in Detroit - Digital Recovery Support Services

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if digital recovery support services (such as smartphone app) help to support alcohol recovery. We focus on a community of Black and African American people with alcohol use disorder (AUD) who receive in-person recovery support services from a recovery community center.

Participants will:

* Have an initial 2-hour in-person visit with the research team. During this visit, participants will be asked about themselves and their recovery from alcohol problems. They will also learn about digital recovery resources. * Use digital recovery resources on their own for 12 weeks. * Complete a short, weekly survey about their experience using digital recovery resources. * Have a follow-up 1-hour in-person visit where the researcher asks about again about the participants, their recovery and how they felt about using the digital recovery support services.

Recruiting

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Key information

Conditions

Alcohol Use Disorder Alcohol-Related Disorders Alcoholism Chemically-Induced Disorders Digital Health Mental Disorders Recovery Outcomes Substance-Related Disorders

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

About this study

See study Detailed Protocol in Study Documents.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Able to communicate in English and read at an 8th grade reading level.
  • Able to read and sign an informed consent form.
  • Comfortable with smartphone technology or willing and able to learn.
  • Identify as Black or African American.
  • Is an adult over the age of 18.
  • Is in recovery from alcohol problems for at least 3 months and no more than 5 years.
  • Is receiving in-person recovery support services at our partner recovery community center at the time of screening and enrollment.
  • Willing to receive and respond to weekly texts with a survey link for brief assessments, and complete two in-person research assessments (baseline and 13-week).

Exclusion criteria

Does not meet inclusion criteria

Treatment and study plan

Digital recovery support services

Behavioral

The primary intervention is the provision of a menu of digital recovery support services (D-RSS) to participants, along with a phone and data plan (if needed) and technical assistance. We have created a menu of D-RSS options that have been vetted by our team as appropriate for a range of recovery goals (e.g., manage emotions, track sobriety, connect with others) and for a range of technological literacy, as well as being culturally relevant or at minimum culturally agnostic. Types of D-RSS presented to participants include mobile applications, websites, and video playlists, all of which relate to and support addiction recovery. Participants also may use other D-RSS that they identify.

Other names: DRSS, Digital RSS, Smartphone apps

Primary outcomes

  1. Usability and Acceptability of D-RSS

    Time frame: At the end of the trial (13 weeks)

    We include a module consisting of 20 items measuring usability and acceptability on a 4-point Likert scale (strongly disagree, disagree, agree, strongly agree). These items were selected from several sources, so do not have a pre-existing scale; we will consider whether a scale is appropriate by examining inter-item correlations and Cronbach's alphas for potentially conceptually similar subsets of items.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Audrey Hildebrandt

CONTACT

[email protected]

781-736-8657

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Brandeis University

Other

Collaborators

  • Detroit Recovery Project INC
  • National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

Registry information

Official study title

UPWARD Study RCT of Digital Recovery Support Services (D-RSS) Among a Black Population in Recovery From Alcohol Use Disorders

Acronym: UPWARD D-RSS

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2027
First posted
Jul 24, 2026
Registry last updated
Jul 24, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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