Mobile Peer Support for Opioid Use Disorders: Refinement of an Innovative Machine Learning Tool

PROJECT SUMMARY This proposal develops a novelartificial intelligenceAIenabledmobile treatment delivery method that fulfills the need for a robustsecuretechnology based peer support platform to support patients with opioid use disordersOUDsThe majority of individuals with OUDs in the United States do not receive any formal substance use treatmentand growing evidence suggests that many OUD patients turn to online social platforms to access peer support and obtain health related information about addiction and recoveryWhile engagement with peers before and during recovery is a key component of many evidence based addiction recovery programscommonly used online social platformse gRedditlack effective content moderationwith inappropriate messages ranging from misinformed advice to maliciousnessThis lack of oversight precludes a deeper integration of peer support and clinical careOur mobile platform allows patients to access a tailored support groupand is augmented with AI tools capable of understanding the emotional sentiment in messagesautomatically `flaggingandaposcritical or clinically relevant contentcreating a scalable system to keep groups safe and constructiveThis phase I proposal demonstrates the robustness of these AI tools by adapting them to catch OUD specific `flagsandaposin peer messages while also examining the adoptability of the platform itself within OUD patientsA subsequent phase II proposal will test tailoredreal time interventions to `flagsandaposallowing the commercialization of a system to harness the engagement and self disclosure of peer groups in a clinical setting PROJECT NARRATIVE The widespread and chronic nature of opioid use disorderOUDnecessitates investment in highly scalable technology solutionsOur work has the potential to dramatically broaden access to care for patientsparticularly those in highly stigmatized and rural communitieswhile taking an entirely novel approach to patient triaging and tracking through artificial intelligence technologySuch technology has the potential to enable new modalities of treatment and lays the foundation for a more cost effectiveyet personalizedapproach to chronic OUD care