Incentives to Decrease Opioid Use - Pilot

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Substance-Related Disorders; Opioid-Related Disorders; Behavior Therapy
• Interventions: Behavioral: App + Inputs Contingency Management; Behavioral: App + Outcomes Contingency Management

• Registration Number: NCT04235582
• Lead Sponsor: Wake Forest University Health Sciences

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to address two key questions in the literature on incentives for substance use. The first question is whether it is more effective to directly incentivize the outcome of interest - drug abstinence - or to incentivize behaviors that are inputs into the production of abstinence. This study will compare two versions of the incentive program: one that incentivizes inputs to achieving abstinence and one that incentivizes the outcome of abstinence. The second question is how to optimize the size of incentives over time to maximize incentive effectiveness. This will be done by randomly varying the size and timing of incentives offered to participants in both the Inputs and Outcomes groups. The incentive amounts will then be varied across participants and time to fit a structural model of abstinence behaviors over time. The model will be used to describe the optimal shape of incentives over time.

Detailed Description

Numerous studies have tested whether providing incentives to encourage abstinence from drugs can further reduce drug abuse in a drug-treatment setting. The results are promising: Incentives to reduce opioid abuse increase the average duration of abstinence by 25 - 60% relative to medication and counseling alone. Similar effects have been demonstrated repeatedly across a wealth of populations, substance-abuse disorders, and payment methodologies.

Despite evidence that incentives are effective and the increasing need for effective approaches to combat the addiction crisis, incentive programs have not been widely implemented. A key barrier is that while the benefits are largely borne by patients and taxpayers, there are large logistical costs that must be borne by clinics: most existing incentive programs involve manual, in-person measurement of behaviors, and prize or voucher purchase and delivery by clinic staff. The significant clinic-level legwork necessary to set up these programs, including setting up behavioral and payment tracking systems, training staff, etc., have prevented the programs from scaling widely. In sum, prior experience has consistently shown that incentives increase duration of treatment and decrease substance abuse, but the logistical complications remain a hurdle to implementation.

This will be the first randomized evaluation of an innovative, scalable incentives program for opioid addiction delivered through a mobile application. The application, which was developed by our implementing partner, DynamiCare Health, provides a "turnkey" solution that health clinics can easily prescribe. The app enables remote monitoring of behavior; for example, drug tests can be administered in patients' homes, as patients submit "selfie-videos" showing them taking saliva drug tests, which are then verified by trained remote staff. Treatment adherence can similarly be checked through GPS tracking for on-site methadone pharmacotherapy. The efficacy of this approach has not been tested rigorously before.

This study will address two key knowledge gaps in the logistics of existing incentive program design for opioid addiction. First, the first technology t for remote monitoring of abstinence behavior for opioid use will be tested. Remote monitoring of abstinence from cigarettes and alcohol has been integral in reducing the costs and extending the potential reach of incentive programs for people with nicotine/tobacco and alcohol use disorders (e.g. to vulnerable or rural populations), and this study promises to do the same for opioid addiction. The second gap is in remote delivery of incentives. After a behavior is verified, the app will deliver incentives to patients as cash available on a linked debit card. The delay between monitoring of the target behavior and the delivery of financial incentives has been shown to be a significant moderator of treatment effect size. This technology allows patients to receive incentives almost immediately following the undertaking of the incentivized behavior: a first in incentives for opioid addiction.

Another novel feature of this design is that can allow assessment of a gap in the literature on incentive delivery: comparing both the isolated effects of incentives and of the monitoring needed to implement an incentive program. In addition to a control group, this study includes both monitoring groups and incentives groups. While existing literature on incentives for addiction has included either a monitoring group or a control group, this is the first to include both, such that a comparison can be made between incentives that are distal (inputs) and proximal (outcome) to the targeted abstinence behavior.

Finally, this study will directly address two key open questions in the literature on incentives for drug-users. The first question is whether it is more effective to directly incentivize the outcome of interest - drug abstinence - or to incentivize behaviors that are inputs into the production of abstinence. Similarly designed studies did not detect different effects on abstinence from incentivizing treatment attendance and incentivizing cocaine abstinence among cocaine users (both were effective): however, not only was this study for a different substance use disorder, but because of differential rates of test submission among these two groups, the results were not conclusive. This study will similarly compare two versions of the incentive program: one that incentivizes inputs to achieving abstinence, and one that incentivizes the outcome of abstinence. To address differential test submission rates, the impacts of the intervention will be measured via urine drug-tests administered identically to patients in both treatments.

The second question is how to optimize the size of incentives over time to maximize incentive effectiveness. This will be assessed by randomly varying the size and timing of incentives offered to participants in both the Inputs and Outcomes groups. The variation in incentive amounts across participants and time to fit a structural model of abstinence behaviors over time. The model will be used to describe the optimal shape of incentives over time.

The results of this intervention will be directly relevant for potential users of this or similar mobile applications for incentive provision among people with opioid-use disorders, including insurers, treatment facilities, and governments.

Basic Information
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Recruitment & Eligibility
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Study & Design
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Trial Locations

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2019-11-20
• Study First Submitted QC: 2020-01-16
• Study First Posted: 2020-01-22
• Study Start: 2020-08-25
• Status Verified: 2021-01
• Primary Completion: 2021-05-01
• Study Completion: 2021-05-15
• Results First Submitted: 2021-06-02
• Results First Submitted QC: 2021-07-13
• Results First Posted: 2021-08-03
• Last Update Submitted: 2024-10-01
• Last Update Posted: 2024-10-03

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 36

Inclusion Criteria

Not provided

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Exclusion Criteria

1. Have evidence of active (non-substance related) psychosis that might impair participation as determined by the PI.
2. Has significant cognitive impairment that might confound participation as determined by the PI or are so significantly cognitively impaired that they have a legal guardian.

Note that pregnant women are not excluded from participating in the study

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Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Combination Group	App + Outcomes Contingency Management	Will receive interventions from both Inputs and Outputs groups, as well as standard of care therapy services and urine drug tests an average of three times per week, total. Interventions include incentives for: * Drug adherence to prescribed SUD pharmacotherapy * Attendance at individual and group psychotherapy sessions * Random saliva tests
Outcomes Group	App + Outcomes Contingency Management	During the intervention period, the "Outcomes" group will receive incentives for abstaining from drug use. Patients in this group will receive the same services and urine drug-test schedule as standard of care and a similar mobile app and debit card as the Inputs group. However, the app will prompt patients in this group to submit saliva drug tests through their mobile phones on a random schedule (averaging three tests per week). Patients will receive immediate financial rewards in exchange for submitting drug-negative samples. Saliva tests typically have a window of detection between 24-48 hr after drug use.
Inputs Group	App + Inputs Contingency Management	Will receive incentives for behaviors that are inputs to abstaining from drug use. Patients in this group will receive the same services and urine drug-test schedule as standard of care. Additionally, patients will be registered for a mobile phone app provided by DynamiCare Health and provided with a linked debit card. The app will prompt patients to complete actions that are inputs to abstinence an average of three times per week. These actions will be tailored to the patient's individual needs, and may include: * Drug adherence to prescribed SUD pharmacotherapy * Attendance at individual and group psychotherapy sessions
Combination Group	App + Inputs Contingency Management	Will receive interventions from both Inputs and Outputs groups, as well as standard of care therapy services and urine drug tests an average of three times per week, total. Interventions include incentives for: * Drug adherence to prescribed SUD pharmacotherapy * Attendance at individual and group psychotherapy sessions * Random saliva tests

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Continuous Abstinence From Opioid Use	Time = 8 weeks	The primary endpoint is the longest period of continuous abstinence from illicit opioids, where abstinence is measured using lab-verified in-person urine-tests, saliva tests, or subject reporting (in the absence of urine testing).
Opioid-negative Saliva Tests at Week 12	Time = 12 weeks	The primary endpoint is the % of opioid-negative saliva or urine tests in each group at Week 12

Trial Locations

Locations (3)

University of Chicago; 🇺🇸 Chicago, Illinois, United States

Aurora Psychiatric Hospital; 🇺🇸 Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, United States

University of California - Santa Cruz; 🇺🇸 Berkeley, California, United States