Addressing Opioid Risks Following Traumatic Injury in Youth: User-Guided Enhancements to a Technology-Facilitated Resilience Program (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Traumatically injured youth experience elevated risk for behavioral health disorders, yet post-hospital monitoring of patients’ behavioral health is rare. The Telehealth Resilience and Recovery Program (TRRP) was originally developed to address this gap for mental health recovery but not substance use. OBJECTIVE To use an iterative, user-guided approach to inform substance use adaptations to TRRP procedures. METHODS Semi-structured interviews were conducted with young people discharged from trauma centers (n=20) and trauma healthcare providers (n=15). Responses were analyzed to guide new TRRP substance use content and procedures. RESULTS Identified themes concerned gaps in care; automation; user personalization; and privacy concerns. A multimedia, web-based, mobile education application was developed, and TRRP procedures were adapted to target opioid and other substance use disorder risk. CONCLUSIONS Patients and healthcare providers found TRRP and its expansion to address substance use acceptable. Novel content and procedures developed here will be evaluated in a future trial.