Using wearables to track how moms respond when babies are distressed
Official title: Automated Assessment of Maternal Sensitivity to Infant Distress: Leveraging Wearable Sensors for Substance Use Disorder Prevention and Research
Funded at University of Texas at Austin · NIH-11146664 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers will use small wearable sensors to learn how mothers respond to their babies' distress to help prevent later substance use problems.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Texas at Austin NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Austin, United States) |
| Project start | September 30, 2023 |
| Project end | July 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $446,639 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DA059423-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11146664 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are mothers (or primary caregivers) of infants and young children who can wear small sensors during everyday caregiving, especially those with a history of or risk for substance use.
✕Less likely to help
People without infants or who are not primary caregivers, or those unwilling to wear sensors or share interaction data, are unlikely to benefit directly from participation.
What this research studies
If you join, you would wear small sensors while caring for your baby so researchers can record real-life interactions and your responses to infant crying or distress. The team will use those sensor signals to train computer algorithms that try to recognize sensitive, timely, and nurturing responses. They will compare the sensor-based results to expert ratings and established measures of parent-child attachment and child behavior. The goal is to build reliable remote tools that could help flag families who might benefit from early support or prevention services.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help identify families who would benefit from early parenting support to reduce children's later risk of substance use.
How similar studies have gone: Related wearable and behavioral-sensing studies are emerging and show promise, but applying these tools specifically to maternal sensitivity for substance-use prevention is a relatively new approach.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: De Barbaro, Kaya — University of Texas at Austin
- Study coordinator: De Barbaro, Kaya
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.