# eHaRT-A: Adapting an evidence-based, in-person harm reduction treatment into a virtual care telehealth intervention for people with lived experience of homelessness and alcohol use disorder

> **NIH NIH K01** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2024 · $172,326

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
The long-term objective of this K01 Mentored Research Scientist Development Award is to support Dr. Tessa
Frohe, in building an independent research career focused on adapting, designing, and implementing efficacious
telehealth alcohol interventions among marginalized communities. To date, Dr. Frohe’s research has focused
on risk factors associated with pain and substance use. During her postdoctoral training, she has begun working
within a community-based and qualitative methods framework to examine alcohol use specifically among people
experiencing homelessness and AUD; however, Dr. Frohe seeks to expand her training from basic alcohol
research to implementing and testing technology-based interventions informed by community stakeholders and
user-centered design to improve treatment delivery among this population. This long-term objective will be
achieved through a five-year training and research plan involving a carefully selected mentor team, targeted
coursework, and hands-on training experiences. The proposed research aims to adapt an in-person harm
reduction intervention (HaRT-A) into a telehealth platform (eHaRT-A) and test it among individuals with lived
experience of homelessness and AUD. This project will occur in two phases: Phase 1 will entail codevelopment
with iterative usability testing of the telehealth platform with a community advisory board (e.g., Housing First
residents) to leverage stakeholder ideas to inform and build the eHaRT-A prototype (Aim 1) and to make design
changes that will improve the feasibility and acceptability of the eHaRT-A platform (Aim 2). In Phase 2, a
randomized controlled trial will be conducted to test the efficacy of eHaRT-A compared to “supportive services
as usual” in improving alcohol-related outcomes (i.e., peak alcohol use, alcohol-related harm, AUD symptoms,
and positive urinary ethyl glucuronide tests) and health related quality of life over time (Aim 3).
This proposal aligns with national (NIH; NOT-AA-20-011) health initiatives to integrate technology-based
interventions for vulnerable and marginalized communities with pre-existing substance use treatments. If
successful, this study will develop a clinically relevant intervention that is more easily transportable to
marginalized community settings because it will be developed for, by, and with the community it aims to serve.
The training plan for this application will focus on intervention development and testing, innovative methods to
enhance technology-based intervention implementation, and advanced statistics. Mentors (Drs. Clifasefi, Collins,
Comtois, Hsieh) and collaborators (Drs. Larimer, Hallgren) are committed to Dr. Frohe’s training and each will
provide unique expertise to her proposed research and training plan. Support from this award will be essential
to Dr. Frohe’s development as an independent scientist who can contribute to alcohol research by codeveloping,
adapting, and testing successful technology-base...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10906152
- **Project number:** 5K01AA030053-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Tessa Marie Frohe
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $172,326
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-09-13 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10906152

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10906152, eHaRT-A: Adapting an evidence-based, in-person harm reduction treatment into a virtual care telehealth intervention for people with lived experience of homelessness and alcohol use disorder (5K01AA030053-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10906152. Licensed CC0.

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