2023 MeRIT Primer Participants – Proposed Research
Sunday, November 12, 2023
12:45 PM–02:15 PM
Abstract
Introduction: Methamphetamine use disorder (MUD) does not have reliable pharmacologic treatment options. Thus, contingency management (CM) programs are emerging as an effective tool to treat MUD. CM is a treatment strategy that involves rewarding an individual with incentives in return for desired behaviors. CM programs for MUD reward patients for proving abstinence from methamphetamine with a negative toxicology screen that is traditionally done twice weekly at substance use disorder treatment centers. The frequency of screenings and the limited number of treatment centers can be a barrier to participation. Offering the screening requirement at community pharmacies presents a novel approach to overcome barriers to access.
Research Question or Hypothesis: How feasible and acceptable is the delivery of rewards for CM in community pharmacies, and to what extent will the service be adopted and delivered as planned?
Study Design: Convergent, parallel mixed methods implementation study.
Methods: Quantitative data for adoption (number of visits participants attended, provider referrals), feasibility (pharmacy staff time spent on visits with participants, number and time of unscheduled contacts between pharmacy staff and the implementation team), and fidelity (how often pharmacy staff follow procedures) will be collected from CM program records. Concurrently, pharmacy staff and referring providers will be invited to participate in semi-structured interviews to collect qualitative data for each implementation outcome. Surveys of participants will collect patient acceptability data.
Data Analysis/Statistics: Descriptive statistics will be computed for all quantitative data. Interviews will be coded to identify emergent themes. Quantitative and qualitative data for each outcome will then be synthesized to summarize findings.
Results: Initial findings will be presented.
Conclusion: This research is expected to inform the design and delivery of future CM programs.
Presenting Author
Lorinda Anderson Pharm.D., BCPSOregon State University
Authors