Monetary Incentives for Abstinence in Alcoholism

N/A

Waitlist Available

Research Sponsored by Mikhail N Koffarnus

Eligibility Criteria Checklist

Specific guidelines that determine who can or cannot participate in a clinical trial

Must have

Be older than 18 years old

Timeline

Screening 3 weeks

Treatment Varies

Follow Up a total of 12 assessment sessions spanning over a 66 week period

Summary

This trial will test whether adding monetary incentives for abstinence to standard treatment improves outcomes for people with alcohol dependence.

Who is the study for?

This trial is for individuals who are currently not drinking alcohol and have recently finished or are finishing an alcohol detox program at Carilion Clinic or University of Kentucky Healthcare. Participants must meet the criteria for alcohol use disorder as per DSM-V but cannot have a primary substance use disorder other than alcohol.

What is being tested?

The study tests if adding monetary incentives for staying sober, verified through a remote breathalyzer connected to a smartphone app, can improve treatment outcomes and reduce relapse after inpatient detox compared to usual outpatient treatments.

What are the potential side effects?

Since this trial involves behavioral interventions with no medications involved, there are no direct medical side effects. However, participants may experience stress or anxiety related to maintaining abstinence to receive monetary rewards.

Timeline

Screening ~ 3 weeks3 visits

Treatment ~ Varies

Follow Up ~ a total of 12 assessment sessions spanning over a 66 week period

Screening ~ 3 weeks

Treatment ~ Varies

Follow Up ~a total of 12 assessment sessions spanning over a 66 week period

This trial's timeline: 3 weeks for screening, Varies for treatment, and a total of 12 assessment sessions spanning over a 66 week period for reporting.

Treatment Details

Study Objectives

Study objectives can provide a clearer picture of what you can expect from a treatment.

Primary study objectives

Pattern of abstinence from alcohol during intervention

Time to relapse

Treatment acceptability

Trial Design

5Treatment groups

Active Control

Placebo Group

Group I: Active Comparator: Group A (Intensive incentives)Active Control1 Intervention

Group A will have the opportunity to earn payments based on the results of their breathalyzer screens. Participants will receive a compliance incentive per submitted sample regardless of the results, but will also have the opportunity to earn more incentives for providing negative results. For the first 3 weeks, these additional incentives will scale based on the number of consecutive days of sustained negative samples. For the remaining weeks incentives will be based on a randomized "prize" drawing.

Group II: No Intervention: Group E (no incentives)Active Control1 Intervention

Group E will have no monitoring intervention, they will only complete assessment sessions.

Group III: Active Comparator: Group B (Prize-based incentives)Active Control1 Intervention

Group B will have the opportunity to earn payments based on the results of their breathalyzer screens. Participants will receive a compliance incentive per submitted sample regardless of the results, but will only have the opportunity to earn more incentives based on a randomized "prize" drawing if they submit a negative sample.

Group IV: Sham Comparator: Group C (Intensive incentives)Placebo Group1 Intervention

Group C serves as a direct control group to Group A and will follow the same incentive procedures, however participants will receive incentives regardless of the results of their samples.

Group V: Sham Comparator: Group D (Price-based incentives)Placebo Group1 Intervention

Group D serves as a direct control group to Group B and will follow the same incentive procedures, however participants will receive incentives regardless of the results of their samples.

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