EMA of Substance Use in Homeless Youth

Ecological Momentary Assessment of Substance Use in Homeless Youth

The proposed study will provide critical information on Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) design characteristics that promote retention in a vulnerable and under-represented population in research-youth experiencing homelessness. The study will use an EMA app to collect substance use, mood, craving, social surroundings, and trauma measures over a 14-day period in youth age 18-24 (n=40) recruited from Star House, a homeless youth drop-in center. Youth will be randomized in 2x2 factorial design (fixed incentive model vs. prize-based model; random assessment 3x vs. 6x per day).

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Substance Use
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA; Metricwire) Prompts 3x/day; Behavioral: Incentive Structure - fixed; Behavioral: Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA; Metricwire) Prompts 6x/day; Behavioral: Incentive Structure - prize based

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 40
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Ohio
    • Columbus, Ohio, United States, 43205
      • Nationwide Children's Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 24 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• currently homeless, defined as lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.
• report any of the following past-month frequencies of substance use (NIDA ASSIST screen) used in prior EMA studies: a) heavy episodic or "binge" drinking (≥4 drinks per day for women/≥5 drinks for men) ≥2 days per month ; b) marijuana use ≥2 days per week; or c) any illicit drug use.

Exclusion Criteria:

-

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Factorial Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

4

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: EMA, 3x/day, fixed incentive; Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA; Metricwire). Participants randomized to this group will be sent prompts through the EMA app to complete brief EMA survey at 3 random times per day. Participants randomized to this group will earn a fixed bonus/incentive based on completion of the EMA surveys (50-74%=$3; 75-89%=$5; ≥90%=$10) each week.	Behavioral: Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA; Metricwire) Prompts 3x/day; Participants receive 3 EMA survey prompts daily for the duration of the study.; Behavioral: Incentive Structure - fixed; Those assigned to the "fixed" incentive condition will earn a fixed bonus based on EMA completion (50-74%=$3; 75-89%=$5; ≥90%=$10) each week.
Experimental: EMA, 6x/day, fixed incentive; Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA; Metricwire). Participants randomized to this group will be sent prompts through the EMA app to complete brief EMA survey at 6 random times per day. Participants randomized to this group will earn a fixed bonus/incentive based on completion of the EMA surveys (50-74%=$3; 75-89%=$5; ≥90%=$10) each week.	Behavioral: Incentive Structure - fixed; Those assigned to the "fixed" incentive condition will earn a fixed bonus based on EMA completion (50-74%=$3; 75-89%=$5; ≥90%=$10) each week.; Behavioral: Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA; Metricwire) Prompts 6x/day; Participants receive 6 EMA survey prompts daily for the duration of the study.
Experimental: EMA, 3x/day, prize-based incentive; Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA; Metricwire). Participants randomized to this group will be sent prompts through the EMA app to complete brief EMA survey at 3 random times per day. Participants randomized to this group will be rewarded for high survey completion with increasing numbers of "draws" for prizes depending on their level of response each week (50-74%=1 draw, 75-89%=2 draws, ≥90%=3 draws).	Behavioral: Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA; Metricwire) Prompts 3x/day; Participants receive 3 EMA survey prompts daily for the duration of the study.; Behavioral: Incentive Structure - prize based; Those assigned to the "prize-based" incentive will be rewarded for high survey completion with increasing numbers of "draws" depending on their level of response to EMA prompts each week (50-74%=1 draw, 75-89%=2 draws, ≥90%=3 draws). For each draw, individuals will use the EMA app to "spin the wheel" to see which prize amount they earn. Out of a total of 500 total draws, 50% will be $1, 43.6% will be $3, 6% will be medium prizes ($5), and 0.4% will be a "jumbo" prize ($90).
Experimental: EMA, 6x/day, prized-based incentive; Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA; Metricwire). Participants randomized to this group will be sent prompts through the EMA app to complete brief EMA survey at 6 random times per day. Participants randomized to this group will be rewarded for high survey completion with increasing numbers of "draws" for prizes depending on their level of response each week (50-74%=1 draw, 75-89%=2 draws, ≥90%=3 draws).	Behavioral: Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA; Metricwire) Prompts 6x/day; Participants receive 6 EMA survey prompts daily for the duration of the study.; Behavioral: Incentive Structure - prize based; Those assigned to the "prize-based" incentive will be rewarded for high survey completion with increasing numbers of "draws" depending on their level of response to EMA prompts each week (50-74%=1 draw, 75-89%=2 draws, ≥90%=3 draws). For each draw, individuals will use the EMA app to "spin the wheel" to see which prize amount they earn. Out of a total of 500 total draws, 50% will be $1, 43.6% will be $3, 6% will be medium prizes ($5), and 0.4% will be a "jumbo" prize ($90).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Length of Time	Total length of time in days using EMA (range: 1-14 days). Higher values represent greater length of time EMA was used.	Baseline to end of trial (day 14)
Percent Completion	Percent of EMA surveys completed (0-100%). Higher values represent a larger percentage of EMA surveys completed.	Baseline to end of trial (day 14)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Nationwide Children's Hospital
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Laura Chavez, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 24, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 30, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): June 30, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 7, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 7, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): May 12, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 17, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 15, 2023
• Last Verified: March 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders
• Other Study ID Numbers: STUDY00000809

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No