# RAE cHealth:  A digital community support tool to promote recovery from substance use disorder

> **NIH NIH R44** · CONTINUEYOU, LLC · 2022 · $259,613

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The research project outlined in this Fast track SBIR submission will develop the RAE cHealth platform into a
tool to address digital inequities and support peer-based collaborative recovery for individuals with substance
use disorder. In this proposal, the investigators intend to develop and deploy the RAE cHealth system-
consisting of a wearable sensor and a smartphone app. RAE cHealth combines objective physiologic data
analysis to identify stress and craving, collection of important user driven data on social determinants of health
and barriers to recovery, visualization to understand special and temporal relationships, and constant
connection to peer recovery personnel via in-app multiple communications options, including telehealth. The
specific aims are to Aim 1) Conduct a needs assessment to understand current barriers and facilitators of
digital health use in individuals with socioeconomic disadvantage and SUD who engage with peer recovery
services. We will conduct semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders to understand required features
Aim 2) Iteratively pilot test RAE cHealth in three cohorts of N= 5 subjects for compliance and usability in our
target population. Prior to transitioning to Phase II, we will develop the fully functional RAE cHealth app based
on three prototype audit/feedback cycles, and achieve an average system usability score of 68. Aim 3) Deploy
RAE cHealth within peer support-based SUD collaborative care organizations. We will conduct an
observational trial of RAE cHealth through three community-based outreach programs to assess retention in
services, healthcare resource utilization, return to substance use, employment data, psychosocial functioning,
and usability, and Aim 4) Explore additional features based on SDoH data to enhance algorithms for the
detection of stress and craving and those predictive of treatment-related outcomes. Upon completion, RAE
cHealth will be a ready-for-market collaborative digital clinical decision intervention to support community-
based recovery programs, and a value-added tool for SUD treatment programs to improve outcomes with
objective data, and ultimately to support recovery. Findings from this work will not only inform the development
in this specific use case but will be broadly applicable to the personalization of mHealth across disease states,
which is ultimately needed to bridge the digital divide and make digital healthcare widely accessible.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10469897
- **Project number:** 1R44DA056162-01
- **Recipient organization:** CONTINUEYOU, LLC
- **Principal Investigator:** STEPHANIE P CARREIRO
- **Activity code:** R44 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $259,613
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-07-15 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10469897

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10469897, RAE cHealth:  A digital community support tool to promote recovery from substance use disorder (1R44DA056162-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10469897. Licensed CC0.

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