# Adapting the Penny Chatbot for Perinatal OUD Patients:  COPILOT

> **NIH NIH R34** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2024 · $243,750

## Abstract

PROPOSAL SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 The US opioid crisis has had a significant effect on many populations, not the least of which effected are
perinatal women. The prevalence of opioid use disorder (OUD) among women giving birth in hospitals increased
by 131% from 2010-2017. OUD in pregnancy and postpartum increases the risks for a host of medical
complications and can lead to adverse birth outcomes including preterm delivery and intrauterine fetal demise,
as well as maternal morbidity and mortality. Loneliness and social isolation are also linked to poorer progression
of acute, chronic, physical, and mental conditions, as well as mortality, and are compounded during the perinatal
period (which is defined as pregnancy and the first postpartum year). Both loneliness and social isolation have
been linked to increased opioid use amount, relapse rates, and overdose even when controlling for OUD
treatment, employment, relationship status, and depression.
 To address both loneliness and engagement in perinatal and OUD care among perinatal women, we 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 using natural language processing to respond appropriately and
accurately to user generated input. In this way, Penny COPILOT feels like texting a friend, as it responds using
real sentences and minimizes awkward confirmatory messages. Our team, in collaboration with the Penn Mixed
Methods Research Lab (MMRL) and Memora Health Technology Company, will use intervention mapping guided
by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Science. We 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. Our 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.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10844625
- **Project number:** 5R34DA058461-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Sara L. Kornfield
- **Activity code:** R34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $243,750
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-06-01 → 2026-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10844625

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10844625, Adapting the Penny Chatbot for Perinatal OUD Patients:  COPILOT (5R34DA058461-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10844625. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*