The Impact of Alternative Social Assistance Disbursement on Drug-Related Harm: a Randomized Control Trial
试验速览
- 阶段
- 不适用
- 状态
- 终止
- 入组人数
- 194
- 试验地点
- 2
- 主要终点
- Illicit drug use on government cheque issue days
研究概览
简要总结
This study evaluates whether altering the timing and frequency of social assistance disbursement reduces drug related-harms that increase on the days surrounding monthly synchronized government social assistance cheque issue.
详细描述
Coordinated monthly income assistance payments, while seeking to alleviate poverty, can also have negative and unintended impacts, particularly among people who use illicit drugs (PWUD). Observational research has identified escalations in drug-related harm coinciding with monthly assistance payments, such as overdose, treatment interruption, hospital admissions and public disorder. This project varies the timing and frequency of income assistance disbursement, and evaluates whether varying income assistance disbursement reduces drug-related harm coinciding with coordinated income assistance.
Conducted among 273 PWUD, participants will be allocated for 6 income assistance cycles to a control or one of two intervention arms. Participants in the control arm will receive payments according to the existing monthly government schedule. Participants in the intervention arm will receive their income assistance: (1) monthly on a day different from government cheque issue; or (2) semi-monthly on days different from government cheque issue. The intervention will be evaluated using qualitative and quantitative methods for its impact on drug use and related harms.
研究设计
- 研究类型
- Interventional
- 分配方式
- Randomized
- 干预模型
- Parallel
- 主要目的
- Other
- 盲法
- Single (Investigator)
入排标准
- 年龄范围
- 19 Years 至 64 Years（Adult）
- 性别
- All
- 接受健康志愿者
- 是
入选标准
- •be ≥19 years of age or older
- •reside in greater Vancouver, Canada
- •report regular use of illicit drugs other than cannabis
- •receive monthly provincial income assistance
- •are not currently administered (where cheque issue/money is externally managed)
- •be eligible and willing to be a client of the local credit union who will administer the intervention
- •report intensified drug use around government cheque issue days
- •provide written informed consent
- •be willing to comply with study procedures
排除标准
- •plan to relocate outside Vancouver
- •have plans to discontinue income assistance
结局指标
主要结局
Illicit drug use on government cheque issue days
时间窗: 26 weeks
Timeline Follow Back (TLFB) assessed increase of drug use defined as an increase in the frequency of drug use of at least 40% or an increase in the number of drugs used during the 3 days beginning with government cheque issue day, compared to non-cheque issue days.
次要结局
- Illicit drug use on non-government cheque issue days(26 weeks)
- Hospital admissions on government cheque issue days(26 weeks)
- Overdose(26 weeks)
- Police service utilization(26 weeks)
研究者
Lindsey Richardson
Assistant Professor
University of British Columbia