CM Treatment for Alcohol Dependence Using New Technology

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Contingency Management; Alcohol Use Disorder
• Interventions: Behavioral: usual care; Behavioral: prize contingency management for attending treatment

• Registration Number: NCT02143037
• Lead Sponsor: UConn Health

Brief Summary

Contingency management (CM) is highly efficacious for reducing substance use, and recent data suggest that reinforcing attendance at treatment can significantly improve treatment outcomes. Importantly, CM interventions that reinforce attendance are more likely to be adopted clinically than those that reinforce abstinence. Having objective indicators of drinking outcomes, nevertheless, is critical for quantifying the benefits of attendance-based CM treatment in alcohol abusing populations. New technology is now available to gauge alcohol use in patients' natural environments. The Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor (SCRAMx®) continuously monitors alcohol consumption 24 hours a day. As such, it may be ideal for objective evaluation of alcohol consumption during treatment intervention studies, including those that involve CM.

In this study, 114 patients participating in community based outpatient treatment programs for alcohol use disorders will wear SCRAMx for a 12-week period. They will be randomized to standard care or standard care plus CM, with reinforcement contingent upon attendance at treatment. The investigators will assess treatment attendance and alcohol use via SCRAMx and self reports. The investigators expect that patients randomized to the CM intervention will remain in treatment longer and show reductions in both SCRAMx assessed and self reported drinking days relative to those randomized to standard care.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2013-05
• Study First Submitted: 2014-02-24
• Study First Submitted QC: 2014-05-19
• Study First Posted: 2014-05-20
• Primary Completion: 2018-03
• Study Completion: 2018-03
• Status Verified: 2019-05
• Last Update Submitted: 2019-05-15
• Last Update Posted: 2019-05-17

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 114

Inclusion Criteria

• age 18 years or older
• current diagnosis of alcohol use disorder
• able to pass an informed consent quiz
• agree to wear a SCRAMx monitor for 12 weeks
• have a standard, SCRAMx compatible phone line in their home or agree to attend the clinic at least every other week for data downloads
• agree to sign an off-campus property transfer form and return SCRAMx equipment in 12 weeks

Exclusion Criteria

• serious, uncontrolled psychiatric illness
• in recovery from pathological gambling
• unstable address
• intend to participate in activities incompatible with SCRAMx in the next 3 months
• are wearing SCRAMx for legal purposes

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Control Group	usual care	usual care
Experimental Group	usual care	usual care plus prize contingency management for attending treatment
Experimental Group	prize contingency management for attending treatment	usual care plus prize contingency management for attending treatment

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
longest duration of actively attending treatment	3 months	patient attendance to treatment groups as verified by clinic records (number of days attended out of number of days expected to treatment)

Trial Locations

Locations (2)

Alcohol and Drug Recovery Centers, Inc.; 🇺🇸 Hartford, Connecticut, United States

Regional Network of Programs, Inc.; 🇺🇸 Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States