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The Cost-Effectiveness of Financial Incentives to Achieve Heroin Abstinence in Individuals With Heroin Use Disorder Starting New Treatment Episodes: A Cluster Randomized Trial-Based Economic Evaluation

Shearer, James; Metrebian, Nicola; Weaver, Tim; Goldsmith, Kimberley; Strang, John; Pilling, Stephen; Mitcheson, Luke; ... Byford, Sarah; + view all (2023) The Cost-Effectiveness of Financial Incentives to Achieve Heroin Abstinence in Individuals With Heroin Use Disorder Starting New Treatment Episodes: A Cluster Randomized Trial-Based Economic Evaluation. Value in Health , 26 (5) pp. 658-665. 10.1016/j.jval.2022.11.021. Green open access

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Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Cost-effectiveness analysis of two 12-week contingency management (CM) schedules targeting heroin-abstinence or attendance at weekly keyworker appointments for opioid agonist treatment (OAT), compared to treatment as usual (TAU). METHODS: Cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted alongside a cluster randomised trial of 552 patients from 34 clusters (drug treatment clinics) randomly allocated 1:1:1 to OAT plus weekly keyworker appointments with either: i) CM targeted at heroin-abstinence (CM Abstinence); ii) CM targeted at on-time attendance at weekly appointments (CM Attendance); or, iii) no CM (TAU). The primary cost-effectiveness analysis at 24 weeks post-randomisation took a societal cost perspective with effects measured in heroin-negative urine samples. RESULTS: At 24-weeks, mean differences in weekly heroin-negative urine results compared with TAU were 0.252 (95%CI -0.397 to 0.901) for CM Abstinence and 0.089 (95%CI -0.223 to 0.402) for CM Attendance. Mean differences in costs were £2562 (95%CI £32 to £5092) for CM Abstinence and £317 (95%CI -£882 to £1518) for CM Attendance. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were £10,167 per additional heroin-free urine for CM Abstinence and £3,562 for CM Attendance with low probabilities of cost-effectiveness of 3.5% and 36%, respectively. Results were sensitive to timing of follow-up for CM Attendance, which dominated TAU (better outcomes, lower costs) at 12-weeks, with an 88.4% probability of being cost-effective. Probability of cost-effectiveness remained low for CM Abstinence (8.6%). CONCLUSIONS: Financial incentives targeted toward heroin-abstinence and treatment-attendance were not cost-effective over the 24-week follow-up. However, CM Attendance was cost-effective over the treatment period (12-weeks), when participants were receiving keyworker appointments and incentives.

Type: Article
Title: The Cost-Effectiveness of Financial Incentives to Achieve Heroin Abstinence in Individuals With Heroin Use Disorder Starting New Treatment Episodes: A Cluster Randomized Trial-Based Economic Evaluation
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.jval.2022.11.021
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jval.2022.11.021
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Cluster randomised trial; Contingency management; Opioid agonist treatment; cost effectiveness analysis
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Clinical, Edu and Hlth Psychology
URI: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10161854
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