Improving Methadone Maintenance Treatment Compliance and Outcomes in China

Methadone

China faces the challenge of dual epidemics of drug use and HIV/AIDS. In responding to concerns of high rates of HIV/AIDS and other medical consequences among heroin users, China has recently implemented methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) programs nationwide. One problem noted with this rapid expansion is that the dropout rates from MMT have been high. The proposed study will adapt a motivational incentives (MI) intervention developed in the United States for use in Chinese MMT settings and will pilot test its effectiveness in improving treatment compliance and outcomes. The study's primary aims are: 1. to adapt a motivational incentives intervention in MMT in China, and 2. to experimentally pilot test the motivational incentives intervention. A secondary aim is to explore factors that may influence the outcomes of MMT that incorporates a motivational incentives intervention. It is hypothesized that the MI intervention can be adapted to Chinese settings and that it will optimize the positive outcomes of MMT in reducing HIV risks among heroin abusers. The collaborative team includes researchers in American and Chinese institutes (UCLA/Johns Hopkins/Washington, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Yunnan Institute for Drug Abuse), officials from national and local Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and providers in local MMT clinics in Shanghai and Yunnan.

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