# Developing e-Covery: An App-Based Intervention to Support Recovery from Co-occurring Alcohol Use and Opioid Use

> **NIH NIH F31** · YALE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $45,520

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Co-occurring alcohol and opioid use is a public health issue in need of attention and has been linked to various
health concerns, such as motor vehicle accidents and drug poisoning and overdose. Individuals engaged in
polysubstance use face myriad challenges in sustaining recovery after completion of substance use treatment
and return to use after treatment completion is common. One challenge faced by individuals in early recovery
is how specific places can serve as triggers for cravings that can precipitate return to use. Smartphone apps
have the potential to curtail the effects of such triggers by providing messaging (or “nudging”) when individuals
are in locations identified as triggers of return to use. To date, research on app-based interventions has yet to
examine the effect of such “nudging” independently and has not looked at its effectiveness in addressing co-
occurring alcohol and opioid use. This F31 aims to improve the health of individuals engaged in co-occurring
alcohol and opioid use across two research aims. (Aim 1) I will examine the relationship between place-based
triggers and return to alcohol and/or opioid use after completion of substance use treatment using a mixed
methods approach to understand how place-based triggers precipitate return to use after individuals reporting
AU/OU leave treatment. First, I will identify how place-based triggers act as predictors of return to alcohol
and/or opioid use. Using GPS tracking and daily surveys, I will collect information over three months on the
frequency and duration of exposure to self-identified places that trigger cravings to use from 100 individuals
reporting co-occurring alcohol and opioid use. I will use longitudinal and moderation/mediation analyses to
identify whether exposure to such triggers significantly influences risk of return to use and the mechanisms by
which it does. I will then conduct semi-structured interviews with at least 20 individuals who provided
quantitative data to better understand these findings and explain how place-based triggers precipitate return to
alcohol and/or opioid use. This will serve to develop an explanatory model for how place-based triggers
influence return to use and how place-based messaging can interrupt this process. I will use these findings to
inform the development of an evidence-based intervention to support individuals engaged in co-occurring
alcohol and opioid use in maintaining recovery. (Aim 2) I will then conduct a stage 1b pilot to test the feasibility
and acceptability of an app-based intervention for individuals reporting co-occurring alcohol and opioid use.
Modifying an existing app to send push notifications when individuals encounter self-identified place-based
triggers, this intervention, based on “nudging” theory, aims to support individuals reporting co-occurring alcohol
and opioid use in maintaining recovery. I will conduct a one-month stage 1b pilot with 30 individuals completing
substance...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10140818
- **Project number:** 1F31AA028992-01
- **Recipient organization:** YALE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Adam Christopher Viera
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $45,520
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-01 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10140818

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10140818, Developing e-Covery: An App-Based Intervention to Support Recovery from Co-occurring Alcohol Use and Opioid Use (1F31AA028992-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10140818. Licensed CC0.

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