Use of a sequential multiple assignment randomized trial to test contingency management and an integrated behavioral economic and mindfulness intervention for buprenorphine-naloxone medication adherence for opioid use disorder.

BACKGROUND: Buprenorphine-naloxone is a medication shown to improve outcomes for individuals seeking treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD); however, outcomes are limited by low medication adherence rates. This is especially true during the early stages of treatment. METHODS: The present study proposes to utilize a sequential multiple assignment randomized trial design to compare two psychological interventions targeting buprenorphine-naloxone adherence: (1) contingency management (CM) and (2) brief motivational interviewing plus substance-free activities session plus mindfulness (BSM). Participants will be N = 280 adults who present to a university-based addictions clinic seeking treatment for OUD. Participants will be randomized to condition to receive 4 sessions of their assigned intervention (CM or BSM). Participants who are adherent, defined as attending physician appointments and having buprenorphine present in urine toxicology, will enter maintenance intervention for an additional 6 months. Those who are not adherent will be re-randomized to receive either the other intervention or both interventions. Follow-up will occur at 8 months post-randomization. CONCLUSIONS: This novel design will examine the benefit of sequential treatment decisions following non-adherence. The primary outcome of this study is buprenorphine-naloxone medication adherence, as assessed by physician visit attendance and presence of buprenorphine in urine. Results will elicit the relative efficacy of CM and BSM compared to one another and whether keeping the initial treatment approach when adding the alternative approach for initially non-adherent individuals is beneficial. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04080180.

Text Comprehension Analyses to Improve Assessment Accuracy: Demonstration Using Gambling Disorder Screening.

Many individuals diagnosed with an addictive disorder are members of disadvantaged groups and obtain a high school education or less, yet self-report questionnaires widely used to identify symptoms of addictive disorders do not use best practices to ensure item clarity and comprehension. In the present study, we explore how advanced text-analysis technology can be used to guide the development of a diagnostic questionnaire with an emphasis on maximizing its readability and then test the accuracy of this questionnaire. In Study 1, a self-report questionnaire for symptoms of gambling disorder was created using best practices for item clarity and comprehension. In study 2 an experimental design was used to test whether the measure with enhanced readability, compared to a commonly used screening instrument, improved diagnostic symptom accuracy among samples of high school and college educated individuals. Subsequent analyses revealed that education was positively related to item comprehension, and participants who completed the maximized readability questionnaire correctly identified more symptoms of gambling disorder than participants who completed the comparison questionnaire, regardless of educational attainment. These studies indicate that the rate at which individuals accurately identify symptoms of psychopathology is strongly related to their educational attainment and the readability of the questionnaire items themselves.

Can motivational messages engage individuals at-risk for gambling disorder in an online assessment?

There is a need to better understand how to motivate individuals experiencing addiction-related concerns, such as gambling problems, to engage in help-seeking behaviors. This experiment tested whether online messages based on principles of motivational interviewing (MI) could be used to encourage individuals to complete a problem gambling screener. Participants (N = 805) who gambled at least weekly and were not receiving treatment for gambling problems were recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 message conditions that all offered participants the choice to complete either a problem gambling screener or an alternative questionnaire focused on gambling-related attitudes. The first condition was an MI-based interactive message, the second was similar in content but was presented in a noninteractive manner, and the third was a control message that did not include motivational elements. We found that the interactive motivational message yielded significantly higher rates of screener completion (39%) than the noninteractive message (28%) or control message (29%), χ² (2, N = 805) = 8.28, p = .016, Φ = .29. This remained significant after controlling for other study variables. Controlling for message condition, participants were more likely to complete the screener if they gambled more frequently, with more money, were more psychologically distressed and interested in receiving help for gambling problems, or had ever received treatment for gambling problems. These findings provide support for the use of interactive MI-based messages to encourage individuals at-risk for experiencing problems to use helping resources. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Can the Behavioral Model of Health Care Utilization Be Used to Predict Completion of a Mental Health Assessment Following Intimate Partner Violence?

Survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) may experience mental health problems. Although some survivors access mental health resources to address these concerns, many discontinue prematurely. One model of health care utilization that has recently gained attention in the trauma literature is the behavioral model of health care utilization (BMHU). This model considers three groups of variables in predicting health care utilization: immutable predisposing variables (e.g., age), enabling resources (e.g., income), and measures of need (e.g., symptom severity). The current study tested the BMHU's ability to predict completion of a free, multisession mental health evaluation for female survivors of IPV (N = 214). Two models were tested, each assessing a separate need-based predictor: The first model assessed symptoms of depression and the second model assessed symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Results were consistent across both models and suggested that younger age and receiving public assistance were both associated with a lower likelihood of completing the evaluation. Contrary to the BMHU's assumed positive relation between symptom severity and health care utilization, greater severity of depression and PTSD symptoms were both associated with a lower likelihood of completing the evaluation. It is possible that following IPV, experiencing psychological distress may engender help-seeking but too much distress may serve as a barrier to continued utilization. Future research should seek to better understand the complex relation between need and access, in the context of mental health care, and develop strategies for retaining IPV survivors who access mental health resources.