NCT06969261 · University of Pennsylvania
Adapting the Penny Chatbot for Perinatal OUD Patients: COPILOT
(PENNY-COPILOT)
What this study is about
To address both loneliness and engagement in perinatal and OUD care among perinatal women, the investigators 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.
View original scientific description
To address both loneliness and engagement in perinatal and OUD care among perinatal women, the investigators 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 to respond appropriately and accurately to user generated input. The investigative team, in collaboration with the Penn Mixed Methods Research Lab (MMRL) and Penn's Way 2 Health Team, will use intervention mapping guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Science. The investigators 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. The 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.
Interventions
BEHAVIORAL
Penny COPILOT
The Penny COPILOT chatbot is an interactive short messaging system (SMS) program that provides educational and supportive content for postpartum individuals. The chatbot has been adapted to include information relevant to opioid use disorder recovery in order to decrease the risk of returning to use among people who use drugs. Messages are sent at specified intervals relevant to the postpartum course and the chatbot allows for two way messaging with an interactive lens.
Primary outcome measures
UCLA Loneliness Scale.
Time frame: During Aim 3 activities, assessments will occur at Baseline and at 3-month Follow-up.
The UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3) is the most commonly used measure of loneliness, with strong test-retest reliability, high internal consistency, and validity.97 While the word "lonely" is never used explicitly in the 20-item scale, subjects are asked to report the frequency of specific experiences (e.g., "How often do you feel in tune with others around you?") on a 4-point Likert scale (1 = "I never feel this way" to 4 = "I often feel this way.") For dichotomous analysis of loneliness, we will use the loneliness severity threshold adapted from Doryab98 which defines "lonely" as having a score greater than 40, while "not lonely" is defined as having a score less than or equal to 40.
Who can participate
This study lists these criteria on ClinicalTrials.gov. A study coordinator reviews eligibility during screening — this page does not determine whether you qualify.
Inclusion criteria
- Biological females who are currently pregnant or within 6 weeks postpartum.
- Able to read, write, and speak English at a 6th grade level.
- Diagnosed and receiving treatment for, or willing to receive treatment for opioid use disorder.
- Receiving prenatal care and OUD care at a Penn affiliated hospital.
Exclusion criteria
- -Current untreated psychosis, mania, or active suicidality as assessed by the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI).
Where
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Collaborators
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Related conditions & keywords
Frequently asked questions
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Will I receive a placebo instead of treatment?
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Data: ClinicalTrials.gov · synced Jul 28, 2026 · Source of record for eligibility and locations