Maggie Wang

All Publications

• A relational agent for treating substance use in adults: A randomized controlled trial with a psychoeducational comparator. Journal of substance use and addiction treatment Prochaska, J. J., Wang, M., Chieng, A., Moore, J., Vogel, E. A., Baiocchi, M., Pajarito, S., Pirner, M. C., Bullard, L., Darcy, A., Robinson, A. 2026: 209993

  Abstract

  Highly accessible and scalable, digital mental health interventions can reduce barriers associated with traditional treatment. Woebot for Substance Use Disorders (W-SUD) is a smartphone application in development that uses Woebot, a guided self-help relational agent intended to offer support to track and reduce problematic substance use. Two formative studies supported W-SUD's feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy to reduce substance use at end-of-treatment (EOT).In a randomized trial with a 1-month post-treatment follow-up, we aimed to evaluate W-SUD's efficacy in reducing substance use occasions relative to a psychoeducational control.U.S. adults (N = 258) with problematic substance use (CAGE-AID≥2) were recruited online and randomized to W-SUD or an email-delivered psychoeducational control. Primary and secondary outcomes were change in past-month substance use occasions from baseline to 8-weeks EOT and baseline to 1-month follow-up, respectively.The analytic sample (N = 202; 107 = W-SUD; 95 = psychoeducation) averaged 38.3 years of age (SD = 10.4) and was 53.5% (108/202) female and 71.3% (144/202) White. At baseline, participants averaged 33.1 (SD = 18.3) past-month substance use occasions with problematic substance use reported as alcohol (73.3%, 148/202), cannabis (30.7%, 62/202), stimulants (17.3%, 35/202), and cocaine (12.4%, 25/202). Anxiety (32.7%, 66/202) or depression (23.3%, 47/202) co-occurred. W-SUD participants sent a median of 322.5 (interquartile range: 59.8, 924.0) in-app messages during the intervention. There was no significant treatment effect on the primary (beta = -0.675, p = 0.741; 95%CI = -4.96-3.49) or secondary outcomes. Baseline to EOT within-group change in past-month substance use occasions were - 13.6 (SD = 15.4, d = -0.879) and - 12.9 (SD = 15.3, d = -0.847) for the W-SUD and psychoeducation conditions, respectively, indicating moderate to large changes in both, which was sustained at 1-month follow-up. Decreases in substance use occasions significantly correlated with decreases in anxiety and depression and with greater treatment satisfaction in both groups. There were no serious adverse events.Participants in both conditions reported significant improvements in primary and secondary outcomes at EOT and 1-month post-treatment, with no statistically significant difference in improvement between conditions.GOV (POSTED 2021-06-14): NCT04925570, https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04925570.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.josat.2026.209993

  View details for PubMedID 42035882

• Inspection-Guided Randomization: A Flexible and Transparent Restricted Randomization Framework for Better Experimental Design JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL STATISTICS Wang, M., Kizilcec, R. F., Baiocchi, M. 2025

  View details for DOI 10.3102/10769986251342292

  View details for Web of Science ID 001530967000001

• Depression screening outcomes among adolescents, young adults, and adults reporting past 30-day tobacco and cannabis use. Addictive behaviors Gaiha, S. M., Wang, M., Baiocchi, M., Halpern-Felsher, B. 2024; 156: 108076

  Abstract

  Few studies examine the relationship between depression and use of specific tobacco and/or cannabis products among adolescents, young adults, and adults. We determined whether the odds of depression are greater among those who used specific tobacco and/or cannabis products and among co-users of tobacco and cannabis.Cross-sectional online survey of a national convenience sample of 13-40-year-olds (N = 6,038). The survey included depression screening and past 30-day use of specific tobacco and cannabis products (cigarettes; e-cigarettes, vaped cannabis, little cigars, cigarillos, cigars, hookah, chewing tobacco, smoked cannabis, edible cannabis, blunts). Analyses correspond to the total sample, and 13-17-, 18-24-, and 25-40-year-olds.Among 5,281 individuals who responded to the depression screener and nine product use questions, 1,803 (34.1 %) reported co-use of at least one tobacco product and one cannabis product in the past 30 days. Past 30-day co-use was associated with higher likelihood of screening positive for depression compared to past 30-day use of tobacco-only (aOR = 1.32, 1.06-1.65; 0.006) or cannabis-only (aOR = 1.94, 1.28-2.94; <0.001). Screening positive for depression was more likely among those who reported past 30-day use of e-cigarettes (aOR = 1.56; 1.35-1.80; <0.001), cigarettes (aOR = 1.24, 1.04-1.48; 0.016), chewed tobacco (aOR = 1.91, 1.51-2.42; <0.001), and blunts (aOR = 1.22, 1.00-1.48; 0.053) compared to those who did not report past 30-day use of these products. Among the 2,223 individuals who screened positive for depression, the most used two-product combination was nicotine e-cigarettes and smoked cannabis (614 individuals, 27.6 %).Screening positive for depression was more likely among past 30-day co-users versus past 30-day users of tobacco-only or cannabis-only. Findings suggest that prevention programs for depression and substance use address tobacco and cannabis co-use.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.addbeh.2024.108076

  View details for PubMedID 38838604

• Analysis of Specialty Nephrology Care Among Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease and High Risk of Disease Progression. JAMA network open Wang, M., Peter, S. S., Chu, C. D., Tuot, D. S., Chen, J. H. 2022; 5 (8): e2225797

  Abstract

  Importance: Identification of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) with high risk of progression to kidney failure can help ensure they receive appropriate and effective nephrology care.Objective: To examine whether patients with CKD at various levels of kidney failure risk receive nephrology care within 1 year of established risk.Design, Setting, and Participants: This population-based, retrospective cohort study collected nationwide administrative health claims data from 156 733 adult patients who met the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes initiative CKD diagnostic criteria between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2019, and had an available urine albumin to creatinine ratio within 90 days of a serum creatinine laboratory test. Patients with a history of dialysis or kidney transplant, a prior visit with a nephrologist in the past year, or palliative care billing codes or those who died or disenrolled within 1 year of the albumin to creatinine ratio measurement were excluded. Data analysis was performed from September 10, 2022, to February 14, 2022.Exposures: Kidney failure risk computed with the 5-year Kidney Failure Risk Equation.Main Outcomes and Measures: The main outcome was nephrology care rates across tiers of kidney failure risk, estimated as the proportion of individuals having a nephrologist visit within 1 year after index time.Results: The study population consisted of 156 733 patients with CKD (mean [SD] age, 74.6 [8.4] years; 91 906 [58.6%] female; 86 457 [55.2%] White). A total of 106 004 patients (67.6%) had a low (≤1%) 5-year risk of kidney failure. Nephrology visit rates increased with higher kidney failure risk. Among the 137 highest-risk patients, 79 (57.7%; 95% CI, 48.4%-64.7%) had a nephrology visit. Among 7730 patients with risk above a 10% threshold, 3208 (41.5%; 95% CI, 40.3%-42.4%) had a nephrology visit.Conclusions and Relevance: This study's findings suggest that nearly half of patients with CKD at high risk of progressing to kidney failure do not have a nephrologist visit within 1 year of established risk. These findings have implications in the design of risk-based guidelines for referral and in the practice of delivering nephrology care to patients with CKD.

  View details for DOI 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.25797

  View details for PubMedID 35984661

• Gaps in Nephrology Referral Care Utilization in Patients at High-Risk of Progression to Kidney Failure. AMIA ... Annual Symposium proceedings. AMIA Symposium Peter, S., Wang, M., Chu, C. D., Tuot, D. S., Chattopadhyay, A., Chen, J. H. 2022; 2022: 866-873

  Abstract

  Early nephrology specialty care slows progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). However, identifying which patients are expected to progress to end-stage disease has been historically challenging to predict. With a limited supply of nephrologists, optimizing nephrology referral is essential for improving patient outcomes. The Kidney Failure Risk Equation (KFRE) provides an accurate metric to identify patients who are at high risk of progression to kidney failure. In this study, we utilize the KFRE to perform a retrospective analysis in a local health network to identify rates of nephrology referral for CKD patients stratified by risk of kidney failure progression. We found a nephrology referral gap in CKD patients at higher risk of progression and an underutilization of albuminuria testing in CKD, suggesting opportunities to improve outcomes by 1) proactively targeting high-risk patients using EHR-based informatics strategies and 2) increasing albuminuria testing as a screening tool.

  View details for PubMedID 37128404

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC10148329