The Center for Behavioral Health and Technology

10/06/2025

It's inspiring to see Dr. Ritterband's leadership and the continued impact of CBHT's work in advancing evidence-based digital health solutions.
Looking forward to Digital Health: From the Academic World to the Real World Monday, October 13, 3:30-4:30pm at Kerr Hall 2001.

09/18/2025

We are pleased to share our new publication in Cancer: "Prospective associations between sleep quality and sexual satisfaction in distressed breast cancer survivors: Secondary analysis from the Apps Reaching Cancer Survivors randomized trial."

This study explores the longitudinal relationship between two common but often under-addressed concerns among breast cancer survivors: sleep quality and sexual satisfaction.

Using data from our ARCS trial, we examined trajectories of sleep and sexual satisfaction over a 12-month period. Both domains showed significant improvement over time, particularly among participants with poorer baseline functioning. But while sleep quality and sexual satisfaction were positively associated at baseline, changes in one domain did not predict changes in the other, suggesting independent trajectories.

These findings underscore the importance of assessing both sleep and sexual well-being in survivorship care and suggest that targeted, domain-specific interventions may be necessary to effectively address each concern.
Full text available here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cncr.70093

By using a parallel-process latent growth modeling approach in a sample of distressed breast cancer survivors enrolled in a randomized clinical trial, sleep quality and sexual satisfaction were found...

09/16/2025

Thank you to Dr. Doug Billings, President and Senior Research Scientist at ISA Group, for presenting at the CBHT Speaker Series last Friday.

Dr. Billings shared findings from his NIH-funded research on mobile Cognitive Behavioral Stress Management interventions designed for African American women managing daily stress. His presentation highlighted how tailored digital tools, such as reminder systems and positive reinforcement, can improve engagement and support sustained participation in health interventions.

CBHT looks forward to continuing these important conversations through upcoming Speaker Series events.

09/11/2025

Join us for our September CBHT Speaker Series talk is this Friday (9/12) from 9-10am EDT with Dr. Doug Billings. https://med.virginia.edu/bht/https-lists-virginia-edu-sympa-subscribe-cbht-seminar/

Dr. Billings is the President and Senior Research Scientist at ISA Group (https://www.isagroup.com/) which includes a team of researchers who have been building and implementing digital health programs for decades. Dr. Billings is a clinical psychologist focusing on technology solutions to reduce health disparities among African Americans. Dr. Billings has been the Principal Investigator on a number of NIH grants examining the capability of different platforms (e.g., computer-based, tablets) to efficiently and effectively assess, prevent, and treat HIV. In recent years, his work has focused on mobile solutions that can deliver patient-centered outcomes for African Americans who lack access to comprehensive, quality health care services.

Talk Title: We're Not Stalking, We're Just... Deeply Invested? The Data Behind Our Boundary Issues.

Talk Abstract: We developed a mobile Cognitive Behavioral Stress Management intervention for African American women managing daily racial and non-racial stress. This consisted of 11 weekly chapters with 62 videos covering topics from racism as a stressor to coping strategies and relaxation training. Layered on top was a logic-driven text system that continuously monitored video engagement and delivered two message types: reminders ("nudges") and positive reinforcement written in the Host's voice. This presentation will report engagement and completion data examining the effectiveness of this intensive reminder system in promoting sustained participation across the 11-week intervention period.

For over 45 years, ISA has been a leader in advancing health science by creating innovative interventions on multiple digital platforms and testing them in rigorous evaluations. Our work has been published in leading scientific journals, informed significant federal legislation, and our inventive so...

09/11/2025

CBHT faculty member Kelly Shaffer https://lnkd.in/es6bG-ZB will be presenting findings from our Sexual Health and Intimacy Enhancement (SHINE) trial at the upcoming conference of the Scientific Network on Female Sexual Health and Cancer https://lnkd.in/eqmmiXgj. Partnering with the Wake Forest NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) Research Base, we successfully recruited more than 300 breast cancer survivors to this fully remote, online sexual health intervention trial, enrolling four times faster than projected. We examined patterns in enrollment by race, ethnicity, and age to better understand who engages with these types of studies.

Keep an eye out for a paper highlighting the recruitment efforts for this trial soon.

Associate Professor at University of Virginia School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences · I am a licensed clinical psychologist with expertise in psychooncology, behavioral research methods, and digital health. My current research aims to modernize and expand access ...

05/21/2024

UVA Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences
The Department of Psychiatry seeks Native American Women and others who can become pregnant, ages 18-44, who read and speak English, for a research study.
The purpose of the study is to gather information to design an app for Native American Women that will help them avoid a pregnancy affected by alcohol.
Short URL: https://bit.ly/CARRIINativeWomen