Delivering Contingency Management in Outpatient Addiction Treatment

Methamphetamine misuse has become a growing concern in Alberta, creating a burden on the health care system. Further, individuals who use methamphetamine in Alberta exhibit significant difficulty remaining in treatment. These troubling patterns necessitate the provision of evidence-based practices (EBPs)-those grounded in empirical evidence-to ensure the best possible care and outcomes for those struggling with this addiction. Within the field of substance use (SU), contingency management (CM) is an extensively studied evidence-based treatment (EBT) for addictive disorders.

CM is an intervention that provides incentives to encourage positive behavioural change. Compared to standard care (treatment-as-usual (TAU)), CM has resulted in improvements in abstinence, attendance, adherence, retention, and quality of life. The efficacy of CM has largely been investigated in the context of reinforcing abstinence, though the literature suggests that CM which reinforces attendance may be as effective. Research from the US has examined the cost-effectiveness of CM and found that although CM costs more, it was associated with greater abstinence, treatment completion, and substance-absent urine compared to TAU. Despite the promising literature, the uptake of CM in Canada is limited making it difficult to understand whether this EBT is equally efficacious as compared to the US.

This study will implement and evaluate the efficacy of virtually delivered attendance-based CM in outpatient addiction treatment in Alberta. Participants (N=544) will be individuals seeking treatment for methamphetamine use (n=304) and individuals seeking treatment for substance use issues other than methamphetamine use (n=240). It is hypothesized that compared to participants in TAU, participants in CM will evidence: (1) greater retention, (2) greater attendance, (3) greater abstinence from methamphetamine and less methamphetamine use, (4) greater abstinence from other SU and less SU, and (5) greater improvement in quality of life over the intervention and follow-up periods. Exploratory aims include understanding how: outcomes differ based remote versus in-person delivery of CM; outcomes differ between participants who use methamphetamine and participants who use substances other than methamphetamine; the costs of CM differ from TAU; CM changes health service use.


Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

* 18-years of age or older
* Seeking treatment for methamphetamine use or substance use issues other than methamphetamine use
* Reported methamphetamine use or substance use other than methamphetamine use within 3-months prior to study entry
* Deemed appropriate for treatment-as-usual using Alberta Health Services clinical procedures
* Willing to participate in the 12-week intervention in-person or virtually at least once weekly
* Willing to participate in-person or virtually for a follow-up at 3, 6, and 12-months following the 12-week intervention period
* Willing to complete questionnaires weekly during the 12-week intervention period and at each follow-up at 3, 6, and 12-months following the 12-week intervention period

Exclusion Criteria:

* Past or current history of gambling problems
* Imminent plans to enter an environment in which participation in this study is restricted (e.g., residential treatment, inpatient unit, detoxification, incarceration, house arrest).
* Attended more than one treatment session since their intake, or screening date was more than one month following their first day of treatment at the Alberta Health Services clinic
* No plans to attend weekly treatment at the Alberta Health Services clinic