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Contact Information:

Dr Nicola Metrebian
02078480359
nicola.metrebian@kcl.ac.uk


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Be Part of Research - Trial Details - Telephone delivered Incentives (verbal praise and small financial incentives) for encouraging individuals receiving methadone treatment to attend their pharmacy to take their medication: testing the feasibility of undertaking a future trial
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Telephone delivered Incentives (verbal praise and small financial incentives) for encouraging individuals receiving methadone treatment to attend their pharmacy to take their medication: testing the feasibility of undertaking a future trial

Not Recruiting

Open to: All Genders

Age: Adult

London

Medical Conditions

Addiction

This information is provided directly by researchers and we recognise that it isn't always easy to understand. We are working with researchers to improve the accessibility of this information.


Most people treated for heroin addiction are prescribed methadone which enables them to stop heroin use safely avoiding
withdrawal. People starting methadone take a daily dose under a pharmacist’s supervision. Supervision prevents overdose. If a patient
misses their daily methadone they will experience opiate withdrawal and cravings which make them more likely to use heroin. If they miss
methadone for three days, people lose their tolerance to the drug and risk overdose. Unfortunately many patients do miss their doses. Research shows that small financial incentives can improve medication adherence. We have developed the technology to deliver such incentives using mobile phones but need to test the feasibility of this approach before conducting a full trial. The research aims to assess the feasibility of a trial to test whether attendance with supervised methadone consumption in pharmacies can be improved by using incentives delivered by mobile phone.

Start dates may differ between countries and research sites. The research team are responsible for keeping the information up-to-date.  

The recruitment start and end dates are as follows:

17 Dec 2018 24 Mar 2019

Publications

2019 Protocol article in https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31909291/ protocol (added 26/10/2020)2021 Results article in https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33407950/ results (added 08/01/2021)

We will survey pharmacists to find out about current methadone dispensing practice and develop the telephone incentive scheme to fit
routine practice. We will then look at the feasibility of conducting a trial to evaluate whether the intervention increases attendance at pharmacies. Three drug services (each with pharmacies supervising 20 patients) will be recruited and randomly offered one of three approaches - which we plan to compare in the future trial. Some patients will receive telephone-delivered incentives (via text), others an appointment reminder (text), while others receive no texts. We will assess the acceptability of these approaches, how recruitment works and whether we can track patients to measure their outcomes.


Anyone over 18 years presenting to participating drug services for a new episode of opiate substitution treatment can take part.

You can take part if:



You may not be able to take part if:


1. Cannot read English AND would require the service of an interpreter to understand a brief oral description of the study2. Already entered the trial.3. Previously attended the service (drug clinic) and were discharged within the last three weeks


Below are the locations for where you can take part in the trial. Please note that not all sites may be open.

  • Lorraine Hewitt House
    Brighton Terrace Brixton
    London
    SW9 8DG

There are no immediate benefits from taking part. You will have a chance of receiving small financial cash rewards for attending the pharmacy to take your methadone or receiving reminders. Involvement in the research may help improve the way you receive your medication.
There are no risks of taking part. You will be asked to log your visits to the pharmacy onto the system via the tablet at the pharmacy counter. This might take a couple of minutes

Dr Nicola Metrebian
02078480359
nicola.metrebian@kcl.ac.uk



The study is sponsored by Kings College London & South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and funded by National Institute for Health Research.



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What will you do next?
Read full details for Trial ID: ISRCTN58958179

Or CPMS 39867

Last updated 08 January 2021

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