Rewards Improve Abstinence, Adherence in Medication Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder

Patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) who receive monetary rewards for completing goals within a medication-assisted treatment program have better outcomes than those who do not, according to asystematic review and meta-analysis published Wednesday inJAMA Psychiatry.“This systematic review and meta-analysis provides support for the efficacy of contingency management for addressing a wide range of substantive clinical problems common among people receiving [medication-assisted treatment for OUD], including the current crisis of comorbid stimulant use disorder, ” wrote Hypatia A. Bolivar, Ph.D., of the University of Vermont and colleagues.Contingency management involves giving patients tangible rewards, such as vouchers exchangeable for retail items, when they show evidence of meeting therapeutic targets (for instance, abstinence from illicit drug use). “Incentives work because they stimulate the same brain areas as the medications used in treatment,” co-author Stephen T. Higgins, Ph.D., director of the Vermont Center on Behavior and Health and a professor of psychiatry and psychological science at the University of Vermont, told Psychiatric Ne ws by email.The researchers examined the impact of contingency management on patients who received medication-assisted treatment for OUD, including abstinence from psychomotor stimulants, illicit opioids, and/or cigarettes; medication adherence; and therapy attendance. They reviewed the results of 74 studies involving more than...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: abstinence cigarettes contingency management JAMA Psychiatry medication-assisted treatment opioid use disorder rewards stimulants treatment adherence Source Type: research