Encouraging Abstinence Behavior in an Opioid Epidemic: A Pilot Study

Last registered on November 08, 2019

View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Encouraging Abstinence Behavior in an Opioid Epidemic: A Pilot Study

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0005000

Initial registration date

November 06, 2019

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published

November 08, 2019, 10:16 AM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country

United States of America

Region

Primary Investigator

Name

Ariel Zucker

Affiliation

UC Santa Cruz

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Rebecca Dizon-Ross

PI Affiliation

University of Chicago

Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status

In development

Start date

2019-12-01

End date

2022-12-31

Keywords

Health, Labor

Additional Keywords

JEL code(s)

Secondary IDs

Abstract

Numerous studies have shown that providing incentives can encourage abstinence from drugs can further reduce drug abuse in drug-treatment settings. 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. We propose to conduct the first randomized evaluation of an innovative, scalable incentives program for opioid addiction delivered through a mobile application. The efficacy of this approach has not been tested rigorously before.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Dizon-Ross, Rebecca and Ariel Zucker. 2019. "Encouraging Abstinence Behavior in an Opioid Epidemic: A Pilot Study." AEA RCT Registry. November 08. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.5000-1.0

Sponsors & Partners

Interventions

Intervention(s)

Intervention Start Date

2019-12-01

Intervention End Date

2022-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

Duration of abstinence as measured by in-clinic urinalysis

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

To answer our research questions, we will conduct a randomized controlled trial of temporary incentives to encourage either abstinence, or inputs to abstinence, among 600 adults with opioid use disorders in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Participants will be recruited from outpatients with substance use disorders in treatment at the Adult Behavioral Health Program within the Aurora Health Care System. Incentivized behaviors will be monitored and rewarded through a mobile application developed by our implementing technology partner, Dynamicare Management. We will evaluate the incentives using a combination of administrative data and surveys. In preparation for this experiment, we will conduct a Phase 1 pilot of 36-50 individuals to test and fine-tune our study protocols. In our pilot study, we will randomly assign individuals to either receive the mobile application to incentivize abstinence, a version of the application that has behavior monitoring but no incentives, or control. The full experimental design will be developed following this pilot.

Experimental Design Details

Randomization Method

Ordered treatment assignment lists are randomly generated in the office by a computer using Stata 15, and treatments are assigned to participants on rolling basis.

Randomization Unit

Individual

Was the treatment clustered?

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

1 clinic

Sample size: planned number of observations

We aim to enroll approximately 36-50 individuals in the pilot.

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

The following treatment group distribution in the pilot is approximate, since enrollees will be assigned to treatments in a pre-determined order but may withdraw.

Treatment Groups:
T1 – Incentives: 1/3
T2 – Monitoring Only: 1/3
T3 – Control: 1/3

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

Part of the aim of this pilot is to determine MDEs for the main experiment.

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB