Advancing Scalable Alcohol Brief Interventions in the ED: A Trial of Conversational AI With Digital Reinforcements

Part of paid clinical trials in Palo Alto, California.

Sponsor
Stanford University
Study ID
NCT07661563
Status
Not Yet Recruiting

Notify me when recruiting opens

Save your spot on the interest list for this study. We'll keep your details with this study so our team can follow up when recruiting opens.

Not yet recruiting

Add your contact details and location so we can keep your interest tied to this study.

Conditions

  • Alcohol Misuse

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
18 Years - 65 Years
Healthy Volunteers
Not accepted

Interventions

  • MICA — BEHAVIORAL
    MICA is an AI chatbot that uses a secure API with ChatGPT and prompted to follow MI principles to support individuals in exploring and resolving ambivalence about their alcohol use. MICA follows a predefined conversational framework and steps: introduction, engagement, focusing, evoking, planning, and closing-adapted from Miller \& Rollnick's Motivational Interviewing: Helping People Change (3rd ed.).
  • TRAC — BEHAVIORAL
    Weekly SMS check-ins designed to support goal-setting, self-monitoring, and adaptive self-regulation strategies. Beginning the Sunday after enrollment, participants will engage with an automated SMS program once weekly for 12 weeks. Prompts include reporting on the past week's alcohol use and whether they are willing to commit to a drinking limit goal for the upcoming week. Responses trigger tailored feedback.

Study Details

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a novel digital strategy combining a generative AI counseling agent (MICA) and weekly SMS boosters works to reduce risky drinking among Emergency Department patients.

Key Dates

Start date
Aug 31, 2026
Status verified
Jun 2026
Primary completion
Aug 31, 2030
Completion
Feb 28, 2031

Study Design

Enrollment
750 participants (estimated)
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION

Arms

  • Experimental: MICA
    MICA is a generative AI-powered counseling agent that delivers brief Motivational Interviewing (MI)-consistent sessions, following the validated MI process (engagement, focusing, evoking, planning, and closing). It uses personalized prompts to promote autonomy and evoke change talk, ending with a session summary and satisfaction check. Participants will complete a MICA session (\~5-10 min) in the ED and at 3 months.
  • Experimental: MICA+SMS
    This condition includes the MICA ED session, a 3-month booster, and 12 weeks of weekly SMS messages supporting self-monitoring, goal-setting, and adaptive strategies. Messages are tailored based on reported alcohol use and goal commitment, offering encouragement, feedback, and harm-reduction messaging.
  • No Intervention: Standard care
    Standard ED care and as-needed referral to alcohol resources

Primary Outcome Measure

Mean weekly alcohol consumption [ Time Frame: Baseline, 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups ]

Locations (1)

FacilityCityStateZIPSite coordinators
Stanford University Medical CenterPalo AltoCalifornia94304-

Find similar trials in Palo Alto, CA

By research site
Stanford University Medical Center· Palo Alto, CA

Related Studies