# Leveraging mHealth to Increase Health Equity among Black Individuals with Opioid Use Disorder and Commonly Occurring Mental Health Disorders

> **NIH NIH K01** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $180,457

## Abstract

Project Summary
The overarching goal of this Research Scientist Development Award (K01) is to provide Dr. Hannah Szlyk with
the training and research activities needed to become an independent researcher who develops, tests, and
implements cutting-edge digital therapeutic interventions that can promote health equity in recovery from
opioid use disorder (OUD) plus commonly occurring mental disorders (COMD). This application outlines an
integrated training and research plan that will provide Dr. Szlyk with the skills needed to achieve her career
goal. Under the mentorship of experts in clinical trials, health equity, implementation science, user-centered
design, and OUD research, Dr. Szlyk’s training will focus on the following key areas: (1) clinical trial
methodology (Dr. Esther Lu; (2) implementation science and user-centered design (Drs. Patricia Cavazos-Rehg
and Emily C. Williams); and (3) health equity in addictions and mental health (Dr. Darrell Hudson). Training
in these three areas will be achieved through didactic and applied activities, participation in national
conferences and institutes, and mentoring meetings. Dr. Szlyk will apply the skills acquired during the training
activities to conduct a research project to appropriately adapt and test an mHealth intervention for Black
Americans with OUD plus COMD. Rates of opioid-related deaths continue to rise among Black Americans in
the United States. These deaths are often concentrated in medium-sized metropolitan cities, like St. Louis,
Missouri, where this research is set. Yet, few interventions are developed to fit the unique needs of Black
clients; none address their heightened overdose risk often compounded by COMD which decreases likelihood
for recovery success. Also, Black individuals experience significant barriers to life saving OUD treatments, like
medication for OUD (MOUD), because of structural racism. To address this gap, the K01 research project will
integrate public health critical race praxis, implementation science, and user-centered design strategies to
appropriately adapt an mHealth intervention for Black Americans with OUD plus COMD. The central
hypothesis is that adaptations to the mHealth intervention will improve engagement and usability among Black
participants, improve adherence to MOUD, and impact decreases in COMD. This research will address key
gaps in treatment by 1) adapting an mHealth intervention for Black individuals with OUD plus COMD; 2)
identifying barriers and facilitators to implementing an mHealth intervention among stakeholders who serve
Blacks with OUD plus COMD; 3) examining the preliminary efficacy of an adapted mHealth intervention.
These data will inform the design of a larger RCT for a future R01 application. Dr. Szlyk’s training and
proposed research will be carried out in the outstanding intellectual environment of Washington University
School of Medicine, which will provide her with a multitude of resources to meet her goals.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10906174
- **Project number:** 5K01DA058750-02
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Hannah Szlyk
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $180,457
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-08-15 → 2028-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10906174

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10906174, Leveraging mHealth to Increase Health Equity among Black Individuals with Opioid Use Disorder and Commonly Occurring Mental Health Disorders (5K01DA058750-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10906174. Licensed CC0.

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