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SMART Trial for Buprenorphine-Naloxone Medication Assisted Treatment Adherence

Testing the Effects of Contingency Management and Behavioral Economics on Buprenorphine-Naloxone Treatment Adherence Using a Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial (SMART) Design

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04080180
Enrollment
332
Registered
2019-09-06
Start date
2022-02-01
Completion date
2025-02-01
Last updated
2025-02-25

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Opioid-use Disorder

Keywords

opioid use disorder, buprenorphine, treatment adherence

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness of two different interventions for medication-assisted treatment (MAT) adherence: Contingency Management (CM) and Brief Motivational Interviewing + Substance Free Activities + Mindfulness (BSM).

Detailed description

The investigators seek to compare the effectiveness of these two different interventions for MAT adherence by first refining and piloting CM and BSM adherence approaches, then conducting a Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial (SMART) to assess sequential, individual, and combined effects across MAT initiation and maintenance. In order to tailor treatment to individual's needs, the study will follow a sequential multiple assignment randomized trial (SMART) design: In stage 1, participants are individually randomized (1:1) to BSM or CM. Adherent buprenorphine-naloxone participants complete treatment in the arm they were originally assigned to, but non-adherent participants are re-randomized (1:1) to either switch to the other intervention or add the other intervention in this part-factorial SMART.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALContingency Management

Contingency management (CM) is a behavioral method that employs external rewards for target behavior. For this study, participants will receive gift cards for adhering to Medication-Assisted Treatment (attending physician visits and adhering to buprenorphine-naloxone as determined by urine toxicology panel) during their first four visits while randomized to this condition. Participants will draw a gift card from a fishbowl each visit they are adherent. Gift cards range from $25-$100.

BEHAVIORALBrief Motivational Interviewing + Substance Free Activities + Mindfulness

Brief Motivational Interviewing + Substance Free Activities + Mindfulness (BSM) is an intervention that uses Motivational Interviewing and Behavioral Economics strategies to increase the salience of delayed rewards by eliciting personal goals, developing opioid-free activities, and engaging in reward bundling and episodic future thinking. Participants will be offered a menu of substance free activities that has been developed in pilot work. Activities will be discussed, and participants will be asked to engage in selected activities as homework. Engagement in substance free activities will be assessed at each subsequent visit. Mindfulness components will also be included in the intervention.

Sponsors

University of Memphis
CollaboratorOTHER
University of New Mexico
CollaboratorOTHER
University of Tennessee
CollaboratorOTHER
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
CollaboratorNIH
Karen Derefinko, PhD
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
SEQUENTIAL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Intervention model description

In stage 1, participants are individually randomized (1:1) to BSM or CM. At the end of stage 1, adherent buprenorphine-naloxone participants remain in their respective intervention group during phase 2 (maintenance phase of same approach), whereas non-adherent participants are randomized (individually and 1:1) to either switch or add the respective other intervention in this part-factorial SMART. Our primary outcome is buprenorphine-naloxone adherence by the end of stage 2. This sequential randomization based on past treatment success assures that the assigned treatment option at any point in time is independent of future potential outcomes and only conditional on the subject's history, i.e., the sequential ignorable treatment assumption is satisfied by design,108 in sharp distinction to observational data where patients chose to switch/add or not to switch/add and where this assumption remains untestable.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Present with symptoms of Opioid Use Disorder * Eligible of receipt of buprenorphine-naloxone medication as determined by Study Doctor * Access to a telephone

Exclusion criteria

* Under 18 years old * Unable to understand spoken English

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) Adherencethrough study completion, an average of 8 monthsNumber of visits where participant attends physician appointment and drug screen results are buprenorphine-positive.

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 11, 2026