The following video tutorials are designed to welcome you to the STAR study, give you a tour of the STAR app, and provide training on using the app, completing study tasks, and getting paid.
Contents:
Transcript:
On behalf of the STAR research team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I want to first and foremost thank you for agreeing to be a part of our research study. You are now part of a group of volunteers who use our mobile health app and share their smartphone data with our team. This will allow us to find better ways to support people in recovery from opioid use disorder.
The purpose of this study is to develop a system that can tell when people are at greater risk of slipping in their recovery. Our team will look for warning signs in the information that you and other volunteers provide. With this information, we can study the feelings, events, and behavior patterns that can lead to using opioids for non-medical reasons. In the future, this system could warn people when they are at risk and hopefully help people avoid future problems with opioids.
As part of the study, here is what we ask of you. We ask that you stay logged into the STAR app on your phone and keep that phone paid for and charged. Get into a good routine of charging your phone every night. We also ask that you set your permissions to share your phone call data, text message data, and your GPS location data with the STAR app. Then, we also ask that you fill out a short survey every day called the daily update, and finally, that you fill out a longer survey every month called the monthly update.
Recovery is a journey and people often experience many ups and downs. We want to develop a system that can help people through the ups and downs. That is why we ask people to be part of our study for an entire year. A year is a long time, but we are here to help you stick with it.
We hope that you complete all the study tasks, every day. But at a minimum, we ask that each month you complete at least 20 daily updates, the monthly update, and that you don’t disable sharing your phone call, text message, and GPS data for more than 12 hours each month.
If you decide you do not want to be part of the study at some point, or you are not able to complete most study tasks, that is okay too. You can leave the study whenever you want.
You can learn more the study and the STAR app in our other videos and on our website. In the STAR app, the “Study Information” tab in the menu has all our study videos, the link to our study website, and our email address. There, you can also find the consent form for the study.
We are so excited to have you join STAR. Thank you again for taking part in this research!
Transcript:
In this video, we will explain the payment system. We value your time and the work you are volunteering to do and will pay you for each phone visit you have with us, each task you complete, and the smartphone data you share with us.
We pay different amounts for tasks based on how difficult we think they will be and how important they are for our study goals.
The daily update is a really important task for our project, so payments for the daily update are a higher than the other tasks. The goal is to complete one daily update survey each day. Each time you complete a daily update you will earn $1.25. If you complete around 6 daily updates each week, you can earn two additional bonus payments ($5 each) every month. Here’s how it works: Half-way through the month, we’ll check to see if you’ve completed at least twelve daily updates. If you have, you get more money: $5. At the end of the month, we’ll check if you completed at least twelve surveys in the second half of the month. If you hit this goal, you get another $5 payment. If you don’t complete enough daily updates to earn the bonus in the first half of the month, you can still earn the bonus for completing daily updates the second half. In total, you can earn about $48 a month by completing all daily updates.
Another really important part of our project is the data you share – specifically your GPS location, voice phone call logs, and SMS text message logs and content. For each of these data you provide without disabling sharing at all in a month, you will get $5, or $15 total each month. In order to share data with the app, you need to stay logged in and keep your permissions set to share. If you lose your phone, have to log out of the app to reset your PIN, or if you have bad service, let us know and it won’t affect your payments for sharing data.
The monthly update is also important to our project. For each month that you complete the monthly update survey, you’ll get $10.
At the top of the home screen, you’ll find the daily task progress bar labeled “Today’s Progress”. The bar shows the progress you have made on your tasks each day. The bar turns green when you complete all your tasks.
If you tap on the task progress bar, you’ll be able to see more information, including a list of the tasks to complete that day and a calendar that shows your past task completion. When you complete all the tasks, you will see a green star on the calendar for that day. When you complete some of the tasks you will see a yellow star.
At the bottom of the page, you will find tips for earning maximum bonuses
Since you are required to use your phone to complete study tasks, we will also pay you $50 to help you make sure your cell phone bill is paid, at the end of every month that you share data with us.
For payment, we will use a reloadable debit card. We send you this card in the mail when you sign up, and we will refill it each month. This card is private to you, meaning we cannot see your balance or how you spend your money, we are only able to send money to the card for your payments. If you lose the card let us know and we can help you get a new one. You will not be charged overdraft fees, or any other fees related to the card.
We will pay you once a month, on either the 15th OR the 30th, depending on the date that you start participating. When this day falls on a weekend or bank holiday, instead we’ll need to make the payment the next Monday or the next business day. A staff member will remind you of your specific date at your next phone call.
Payments take several hours for us to compute, so on payday, your payment will be deposited to your card sometime in the afternoon, before 5pm Chicago time.
There are additional documents that present payment related information in the STAR app. In the “Study Information” there are links to materials that go over all payment information that I discussed today. If you tap the “Privacy Policy / Informed Consent” tab, you can see the consent form that lists all of the payment details in writing. If you tap the “How to” tab, you can find links to information on our website about payments, including frequently asked questions.
Transcript:
This video will walk you through various features and resources in the STAR app. Although you are not required to use them, these features and resources were selected to be helpful to people in recovery.
Task Tracker
First, at the top of the home screen, you’ll find the daily task progress bar labeled “Today’s Progress”. The bar shows the progress you have made on your tasks each day. The bar turns green when you complete all your tasks.
If you tap on the task progress bar, you’ll be able to see more information, including a list of the tasks to complete that day and a calendar that shows your past task completion. When you complete all the tasks, you will see a green star on the calendar for that day. When you complete some of the tasks you will see a yellow star.
At the bottom of the page, you will find tips for earning maximum bonuses
Profile
To access the menu, tap the three lines at the top right-hand corner. The menu buttons take you to different parts of the app.
The top button on the menu is to your profile. You can choose what shows in your profile by tapping your screen name.
To fill out your profile information, tap the “Edit Profile” button. In these boxes, you can describe your interests. Other members will be able to see your profile, so you should not put personal or identifying information in your profile like your name or where you work. When you are done tap the “Save” button. and then confirm if you are ready to save.
To add an image to your profile, tap the “Update Profile Icon” button. Tap an image to make it your profile icon. Tap “Load More” to see more images. When you have selected an icon, tap “Save Profile Icon” and then confirm if you are ready to save.
To change your password, tap the “Change Password” button. You will need to enter your current password on the top line. Then enter your new password on the two lines below. All passwords must have at least 8 characters. When you are ready to save your new password tap the “Save” button and then confirm if you are ready to save.
Members
The next button in the menu is to the “Members” page where you can view other members’ profiles. To view someone’s profile, tap their username.
Settings
The next menu button is to “Settings”. Here you can adjust how STAR works and personalize STAR to help your recovery.
You can also add “High Risk Locations.” For places that you think may be harmful to your recovery. To add a high-risk location, tap the “High Risk Location” button. Then tap the orange circle with a plus sign. Type in the name or address of the location you wish to add in the search bar at the top of the screen. Once the location appears of the map, tap the save button. Then, enter a name for the location, and tap the save button. Adding a high-risk location sets up an alert from STAR that will go off when you are in the location. To return to settings, tap the back arrow at the top left corner.
Adding contacts and high-risk locations are app features for your recovery and do not affect your bonuses or participation status in STAR
In settings you can set, change, or delete a lock screen pin for the app. If you add create a PIN, you will need to type in that PIN when you open STAR after it has been closed for several minutes. A pin will keep the information you add to STAR private. We want you to set a pin for STAR because we ask you to report personal and sensitive information in STAR.
To set a pin tap “Lock Screen Settings” and then “Setup”. To change an existing PIN, tap “Reset your PIN”. Using the number pad, tap out a four-digit number, then tap “Enter”. Follow the instructions to confirm your new PIN by retyping the same four-digit number and tapping “Enter”.
If you forget your PIN and cannot access STAR, tap the “Logout” button in the top right corner. You will be logged out of the app, which will reset your PIN. Then, log back. You will be able to access STAR and you can set up a new pin. Be sure to log back into STAR because when you are logged out you are not sharing data which can affect your bonuses and participation.
In settings you can also control notifications. You will always get task notifications within STAR, and you can choose to get notifications outside of STAR. To set your notification preferences, tap the “Notification Settings” button. Here you can turn different notifications on or off by tapping the check box next to the notification. To receive all notifications, you should check all the boxes. To receive no notifications, you should uncheck all the boxes. Turning off your Notification settings will not affect your participation; however, you may find that having them turned on is helpful for remembering to complete the tasks. When you are done customizing your notification settings, tap the “Save” button.
In the settings menu you can see and change what data you are sharing with the research team by tapping the “Research Study Settings” button. [We will need to add the information about battery settings later here.] First you will see information about the data you are sharing. . To stop sharing your phone logs, SMS logs and content, or location, tap the “Change Settings” button. Changing these settings will affect your bonuses and can affect your future participation in STAR.
If you tap “Change Settings” you will see a message warning you that turning off GPS and Phone/SMS data sharing will reduce your next bonus by up to $15 and asking you if would like to continue.
If you tap “Yes” you will be directed to your phone’s settings where you can change the app permissions.
Home
The next button in the Menu is the “Home” button which will take you to the STAR homepage when tapped.
Daily Update, Monthly Update
The Menu also has buttons for each of the tasks: the daily update and the monthly update.
Peer Support
The next button in the Menu is “Peer Support”. You can interact with other members on the STAR app by tapping the “Peer Support” button in the main menu or on the Home screen. Peer support lets you give and get support through STAR discussion boards and communicate with staff via direct messages.
Discussion Boards
To access the discussion boards, tap the “Discussions” button. At the top of the page, you will see three additional buttons: “All”, “Threads”, and “Mine”.
If you tap “All”, You will be able to see all of the messages STAR members have posted to the discussion board.
You can create a new discussion post by tapping the orange circle with a white plus at the bottom right-hand corner. If you want to create a title for your message, type it in the text box under “Title”. Then, type your message into the “Message” box.
When you are ready to post your message, tap the “Send Message” button at the bottom of the page and confirm if you are ready to send your message.
Some people find peer support helpful, but you do not need to participate in the discussions.
When using the discussion boards, follow the app guidelines for posting, which are listed in Study Information.
The discussion boards are for talking to other members. If you need to talk to study staff, you can send us a direct message or email or call us.
To see threads, tap “Threads” you will be able to view threads of comments that you have participated in.
If you tap “Mine” at the top of the page. You will be able to see all of the posts and comments you have made to the discussion boards.
Direct Messages
The STAR team will use direct messages to communicate important information about your participation, about the compensation and bonuses you receive each month, and about any issues you may have related to task completion or data sharing.
To view and respond to private messages with the STAR team, tap “Direct Messages”. To send or respond to a direct message from the STAR team, tap the orange circle with a white plus at the bottom right-hand corner.
You will then be able to select the ‘STAR Help’ account, Then, simply tap the orange circle at the bottom right corner.
The STAR team will not see your messages right away. So, do not use the Direct Message feature if you need to get in touch with the STAR team quickly. Instead, call or text the STAR Study Phone.
Study staff are researchers and not counselors. If you need to talk to a counselor or doctor urgently, contact your regular treatment provider or another trained mental health care provider. You may send direct messages to staff with questions, comments, or concerns about the STAR study at any time. However, all Direct Messages to staff should be on topic and professional in tone
Recovery Resources
Next in the menu is “Recovery resources”. These are tools, books, games, and other media designed to help your recovery.
When you tap a linked resource in recovery resources, STAR will open a web browser or relevant app on your phone, depending on the link and your phone.
If you want to share your thoughts about a recovery resource, type a comment in the box titled “Send a Comment”. When you are done tap “Send Comment” and confirm that you are ready to send your comment.
In “Guided Relaxation” you will find a list of helpful guided meditations that may help you with things like sleep, mindfulness, stress, and managing difficult emotions.
There are several different types of media: there are games and audio podcasts. In “Videos” there are TED Talks and other web series. In “Articles” there are columns, worksheets, and book recommendations.
We have also designed resources that research suggests can be helpful to recovery.
Resources near you
In Resources Near You, you will find a links to several organizations that can help you find resources in your community using your zip code or city and state.
Personalized Resources
In “My Motivations” you can create a list of reasons why you want to stay well and watch your list grow as you continue your path to recovery. To add a motivation, tap the orange circle with a white plus at the bottom right-hand corner of the page. Type your motivation into the text box provided. You can upload a picture that reminds you of your motivation by tapping the Upload image underneath the text box. When you are ready to save your motivation, tap the “Save” button.
In “My Gratitude”, you can add things that you are thankful for, making you more aware of their presence every day as you strive to complete daily tasks and goals.
In “My Favorites” you can find a list of your saved items. For example, you can save your most used or useful articles, books, videos, etc. so you may come back and visit them more easily when you need them most. To save something to your favorites, tap the bookmark icon to the right of the title of whichever resource you find most helpful.
Coping with cravings
The next button in the menu is “Coping with Cravings”. In “Coping with Cravings” you will find a short list of activities/tasks that you may find helpful if you feel an urge to use drugs or alcohol. Many of the suggested activities here are links. For example, if you click on “play a game” a game will open. If you click “call a trusted friend or family member” your added contacts from the settings page will open.
Study Information
The last button in the menu is “Study Information”. In “Study Information”, you can find STAR App Guidelines, How-Tos, Privacy Policy/Informed Consent information, links to the study website, Study Staff contact information.
If you tap on “Guidelines”, you’ll find a detailed overview of the guidelines for using the STAR app.
In “How-to”, you will find a link to the Frequently Asked Questions section of the STAR Study website. How-to is the go-to destination for finding answers to specific questions about the STAR App and your participation in the study
In “Privacy Policy/Informed consent”, you’ll find information on the STAR apps Privacy Policy as well as a summarized version of the Informed Consent form you were given when you joined the study. If you would like another copy of the full informed consent form at any time during your participation, please reach out to study staff.
The study website link will redirect you to the STAR study homepage. On the STAR study website, you will be able to access Frequently Asked Questions, revisit these Video Tutorials, and find Study Staff contact information.
If you experience any technical support issues while using the STAR App, please reach out to us by emailing the STAR team. You can expect to get a response within 1-2 business days.
Current App Version lists the current version of the app and will indicate when you are not using the current version. Tap this button to install the latest version of the app.
Log out
To log out of the app, open the menu and tap “Logout”. Staying logged into your account is an important part of your participation in this study, so you will be asked if you are sure you want to log out and reminded that logging out will reduce your next bonus by $15. To log out, tap Yes.
Version
At the bottom of the menu, you will find the Version of the app you currently have installed.
Transcript: In this video, we are going to walk through the guidelines for the STAR app. By joining STAR, you agree to follow our guidelines when posting on STAR message boards, in direct messages, and during phone calls with STAR staff.
Our Guidelines are designed to make sure our participants and staff are protected and are treated professionally and with respect. All in-app messages, posts, and phone calls with staff are regularly reviewed by the STAR team, and staff will remove any discussion post, comment, or individual member who does not follow these guidelines. The full app guidelines can be found in the Study information tab in the STAR app.
Guideline 1: Always Use Respectful Language
Our team is committed to making the STAR app a space where individuals feel comfortable, safe, and empowered to communicate while supporting their recovery. Therefore, STAR will not tolerate sexual harassment, hate speech, violent or vulgar remarks, or hurtful language of any kind on app discussion boards or in communications with STAR staff.
Guideline 2: Use a Professional Communication Style
Please communicate with staff and other STAR participants as you would in a professional work setting. You may send direct messages to staff with questions, comments, or concerns about the STAR study at any time. However, all Direct Messages to staff should be on topic and professional in tone. Similarly, posts and replies to topics on discussion boards should remain on topic and maintain a professional tone.
Our team is committed to responding to all messages from our participants in a prompt and professional manner. In addition to the standards outlined above, you can expect that any Direct Message or phone call to STAR staff will be responded to within 1 – 2 business days of the message being received. If you are ever reaching out to report an issue with the STAR app, you will not be penalized for study tasks missed while waiting for a response from study staff.
Guideline 3: Safe Communication/Privacy
Communications on the STAR app and with STAR staff are secure to protect your privacy. Since posts and comments on message boards are able to be viewed by other authorized STAR users, we request that all users avoid sharing personal or private information that they would not be willing to share with a total stranger. For example, you should never share your full name, your phone number, your address, or your social security number.
While you are free to discuss details of your participation in the study with people on other platforms, please be mindful of the information you are sharing within the STAR app to make sure that you are not accidentally sharing personal information about someone else. If you would shred it, don’t share it.
Review Process
Our team keeps a record of all messages and posts sent within the STAR app, as well as all phone and email conversations with STAR staff outside of the app. These records are regularly reviewed by our STAR team to make sure communication follows our stated guidelines.
If a member of the STAR team detects language or behavior that does not follow our guidelines, a private written warning will be sent to individuals following their first offence. A second offence may result in the person’s account being removed from the app and the participant being removed from the STAR study.
Study staff will always be available to discuss decisions about warnings or withdrawal. These guidelines are meant to serve as general rules for the type of behavior that will result in a warning or possible withdrawal from the STAR study. The STAR team reserves the right to determine if a participant has behaved inappropriately.
Transcript:
In this video we are going to walk-through how to complete a daily update. The daily update is a short survey that will be the same every day. It first asks if you have any use of opioids to report and then asks questions about your experiences and feelings in the last 24 hours and the upcoming week.
The daily update will take about less than a minute to complete. You can complete the daily update any time before 5 am, but we would like you to try to complete it at the same time everyday so that it is part of your routine and you don’t forget to complete it. A great time to complete the daily update is in the morning as you are getting ready for the day.
Every day, you will get a notification to complete the daily update when you open the Star app. The daily update will be available at 5am Central Time and you will have until 5am the next day to complete it.
To complete the daily update, you simply click the “Daily Update” button on the home page of the STAR app or click the “Take now” button on the daily update notification.
The daily update has some instructions on the first page. These describe what the questions will be about and describe what we mean when we ask about “using drugs for ‘non-medical reasons’”. When we ask about using drugs for non-medical reasons, we are asking about whether you have taken drugs to feel high or intoxicated, taken a drug that you weren’t prescribed, taken more of a drug than you were prescribed, taken a drug more frequently than prescribed, or used a drug for reasons other than why it was prescribed. We are not asking about your use of prescribed medications for opioid addiction (for example through your Medication Assisted Treatment program) or pain medications that you have taken exactly as prescribed by your doctor. We are only interested in your use of medications or drugs for the non-medical reasons we just described. When you are ready to continue tap the orange “Continue” button.
After this page of instructions, the questions will begin. The first question is the most important question that we ask you on any survey. This question asks you whether you have used any opioids for non-medical reasons that you haven’t already reported in a previous daily update. So, for example, if you miss a few daily updates and you used opioids for non-medical reasons in that time, you should report those times in the next daily update you complete. Your answer to this question is protect by The Certificate of Confidentiality for this study. Answering yes or no to this question does not affect your participation or payment in any way. For more information about privacy protections, please visit the STAR study website.
If you indicate “Yes” meaning that you have used opioids for non-medical reasons that you have not yet reported, the next question will ask about the dates and times of your use. You will see four options for different blocks of time for each date between when you started the study and when you are filling out the daily update. The first block of time on any given day is the very early morning, from midnight to just before 6 in the morning. The next block is the morning from 6 in the morning to just before noon. The third block is the afternoon and early evening, from noon to just before 6 at night. The last -block is the evening, from 6 at night to just before midnight. You should select the block of time and date for each occasion you have used opioids. If you used opioids more than once select all the times when you used opioids. If you are reporting a slip that happened more than a few days ago, you can use the side arrows to find the right dates.
It is very important that we know when you have used opioids for non-medical reasons. The main goal of our study is to help people trying to recover from opioid addiction. Knowing when people in our study have used will allow us to see what circumstances lead to the opioid use for people in recovery.
We understand that it can be hard to report opioid use, especially right after you use. So, you can report that you have used opioids for non-medical reasons at any time and whenever you feel comfortable reporting it. However, we ask that you try to report it as soon as possible so that you don’t forget about it. If you are not sure whether you have already reported any specific time you used opioids for non-medical reasons, you should report it again. It’s okay to report the same time slip twice. This is much better than missing a report of your use.
After you answer the question about your use of opioids for non-medical reasons, there will be two more sets of question. The first set will include question about the previous 24 hours. That is, the questions ask about your experiences and behaviors since the same time on the previous day. This will include question about use of drugs other than opioids, medication use, urges, mood, and other experiences over the past 24 hours.
The final set of questions asks about the future rather than the past. You will be asked to think about your recovery over the next week. Specifically, you will be asked to rate how confident you are in your ability to completely avoid using opioids for non-medical reasons and how motivated you are to completely avoid using opioids for non-medical reasons.
After that you are done with the daily update. You will see a message that says, “Thank you! You have now completed the daily update.”
You can only complete the daily update once a day.
You can earn up to $48 per month for completing daily updates, paid to your study card. For every daily update you complete, you will earn $1.25. If you complete at least 6 daily updates each week, you will earn the bonuses of $5 in each half of the month.
Try to complete a daily update every day and answer every question on the daily update. Completing the daily update is a very important aspect of your participation in this study. To continue participating in the study, you will have to complete at least 20 daily updates every month.
During the study, you might be in a situation where you can’t complete the daily update, like if you lose your phone. If that happens, please email study staff as soon as you are able to let us know. The STAR app will alert us if you are missing a lot of daily updates or not answering every question. If that happens, we will send you a message to ask if everything is okay and to help you with any issues that you are having with the daily update.
Transcript:
Today, we are going to walk-through how to complete a monthly update. The monthly update is a longer survey that asks you questions about yourself, people in your life, your experiences, and your behavior. You will complete the monthly update every month that you are part of the study.
As soon as the monthly update becomes available, the STAR app will notify you to complete the monthly update. The update will take about 20 minutes to complete. We recommend you take the monthly update as soon as it becomes available, but if you are unable to complete the monthly update when it first becomes available, that’s okay. Over the next four weeks, the Star app will remind you that you have a monthly update to complete every time you launch the Star app.
Here is how you’ll complete the monthly update:
Open the monthly survey by tapping the “Monthly Update” button on the home page of the Star app or click the “Take Now” button on the monthly update notification.
The monthly update is similar to the daily update, but much longer.
We recommend you set aside 20 minutes and find a quiet, private place to complete the monthly update.
The update consists of several short questionnaires. The questionnaires are made up of questions about yourself and your experiences, people in your life, or your recent drug use and your recovery. To complete them you’ll choose an answer that best matches you and your experiences. We would like you to read every question carefully and answer them honestly.
The first monthly update will ask extra questions about you, like your age, history of drug use, and other aspects of your life history. Every month after the first month you will be asked to provide information about how the people you text and talk with on the phone and the places you go make you feel and whether they support your recovery or put your recovery at risk. Some months you will get questions about your experience using the STAR app and completing study tasks.
If you need to take a short break while completing the monthly update, tap the “Exit” button and confirm “Yes” to save and return to the home page. The next time you open the monthly update, it will pick up where you left off.
Once you are done with the regular monthly update and you will see a message notifying you that you have completed the monthly update and that you will be receiving an additional $10 on your next study task payment, paid to your study card.
The first monthly update will take about 30 minutes to complete. This survey is longer than the rest of the monthly updates you will be asked to complete for the study. The reason the first monthly update is longer than the other monthly updates is that it asks additional questions about your lifetime drug use history, your personality, your childhood, and your experiences with certain difficult life events. These questions will only be asked on the first monthly update.
Please try to complete every question on the monthly updates. We understand that some of the topics we cover in the monthly update may be difficult to answer. However, we will keep all of your answers to all the questions completely confidential. Your answers will also not affect your participation or payments in any way.
Completing the monthly update is a very important aspect of your participation in this study. To remain a participant in the study for the entire year, you will have to complete at least nine monthly updates. If you fail to complete a monthly update within four weeks of it becoming available or skip more than 5 questions on a monthly update, it will count as a missing monthly update. That means you will not receive the monthly update payment for that month, and you will receive an email from study staff notifying you have missed important study tasks.
During the study, you might be in a situation where you can’t complete the monthly update, like if you lose your phone. If that happens, please contact us immediately.