Behavioral Economic Approaches to Increase Naloxone Aquisition and Carrying in an Urban Environment

This study aims to use behavioral economics interventions to increase naloxone acquisition and carrying among participants who attend opioid overdose reversal training. The study consists of two distinct randomized controlled trials (Aim 2 and Aim 3) and has three primary objectives:

Aim 1: To diagnose behavioral bottlenecks to naloxone acquisition and carrying. This aim involves analyzing data from naloxone training sessions to identify barriers to acquiring and carrying naloxone. These barriers will be mapped to cognitive biases, such as optimism bias and overconfidence, and will inform the behavioral interventions in Aims 2 and 3.

Aim 2: To test the impact of a behavioral economics intervention on naloxone acquisition. This aim involves a randomized controlled trial with 60 participants. The intervention group will receive commitment pledges, acquisition plans, and tailored text message nudges to increase naloxone acquisition within one week of training. The control group will receive standard training. The primary endpoint is the time it takes for participants to acquire naloxone post-training.

Aim 3: To test the impact of a text nudge intervention on naloxone carrying. This aim also involves a randomized controlled trial, where all participants receive naloxone at the training. The intervention group will receive tailored text message nudges to encourage consistent naloxone carrying. The control group (n=30) will not receive these nudges. The primary endpoint is the consistency of naloxone carrying post-training.