Understanding Pathways to Wellness and Recovery in Detroit - Digital Recovery Support Services (UPWARD D-RSS)

July 20, 2026 updated by: Sharon Reif, Brandeis University

UPWARD Study RCT of Digital Recovery Support Services (D-RSS) Among a Black Population in Recovery From Alcohol Use Disorders

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if digital recovery support services (such as smartphone app) help to support alcohol recovery. We focus on a community of Black and African American people with alcohol use disorder (AUD) who receive in-person recovery support services from a recovery community center.

Participants will:

  • Have an initial 2-hour in-person visit with the research team. During this visit, participants will be asked about themselves and their recovery from alcohol problems. They will also learn about digital recovery resources.
  • Use digital recovery resources on their own for 12 weeks.
  • Complete a short, weekly survey about their experience using digital recovery resources.
  • Have a follow-up 1-hour in-person visit where the researcher asks about again about the participants, their recovery and how they felt about using the digital recovery support services.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

See study Detailed Protocol in Study Documents.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
65

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Michigan
      • Detroit, Michigan, United States, 48208
        • Recruiting
        • Detroit Recovery Project
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Sharon Reif, PhD

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Able to communicate in English and read at an 8th grade reading level.
  2. Able to read and sign an informed consent form.
  3. Comfortable with smartphone technology or willing and able to learn.
  4. Identify as Black or African American.
  5. Is an adult over the age of 18.
  6. Is in recovery from alcohol problems for at least 3 months and no more than 5 years.
  7. Is receiving in-person recovery support services at our partner recovery community center at the time of screening and enrollment.
  8. Willing to receive and respond to weekly texts with a survey link for brief assessments, and complete two in-person research assessments (baseline and 13-week).

Exclusion Criteria:

Does not meet inclusion criteria

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: TAU + DRSS
At the initial in-person visit, participants will complete a structured interview of baseline assessments and will be provided with a menu of digital recovery support services (D-RSS) to participants, technical assistance, and a phone and data plan (if needed). The research team will discuss the D-RSS menu with the participants and guide them through app installation and use. Following the initial visit, it is up to the participants to engage with the D-RSS. We will send a text survey 1 week after the visit, and each week thereafter for 12 weeks, that assesses their engagement with in-person recovery supports, D-RSS, and their current recovery status. The 3-month visit will be scheduled in the week following the last (week 12) text survey, at which participants will meet with research staff for a final in-person assessment.
Behavioral: Digital recovery support services
The primary intervention is the provision of a menu of digital recovery support services (D-RSS) to participants, along with a phone and data plan (if needed) and technical assistance. We have created a menu of D-RSS options that have been vetted by our team as appropriate for a range of recovery goals (e.g., manage emotions, track sobriety, connect with others) and for a range of technological literacy, as well as being culturally relevant or at minimum culturally agnostic. Types of D-RSS presented to participants include mobile applications, websites, and video playlists, all of which relate to and support addiction recovery. Participants also may use other D-RSS that they identify.
Other Names:
  • DRSS
  • Digital RSS
  • Smartphone apps

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Usability and Acceptability of D-RSS
Time Frame: At the end of the trial (13 weeks)
We include a module consisting of 20 items measuring usability and acceptability on a 4-point Likert scale (strongly disagree, disagree, agree, strongly agree). These items were selected from several sources, so do not have a pre-existing scale; we will consider whether a scale is appropriate by examining inter-item correlations and Cronbach's alphas for potentially conceptually similar subsets of items.
At the end of the trial (13 weeks)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Brandeis University

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Detroit Recovery Project INC

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Sharon Reif, PhD, Brandeis University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
June 13, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
May 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
July 20, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 20, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
July 24, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
July 24, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 20, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 22126R
  • R01AA029817 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

All data from the trial will be shared via the NIAAA data archive.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

July 2026 to July 2029

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Deidentified subject data will be available to those who meet the expectations of the NIAAA data archive. Supporting data will be available through clinicaltrials.gov or upon request.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • ICF

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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