Training community-based treatment providers to implement contingency management for opioid addiction: Time to and frequency of adoption

Contingency management (CM) is a well-established treatment for opioid use, yet its adoption remains low in community clinics. This manuscript presents a secondary analysis of a study comparing a comprehensive implementation strategy (Science to Service Laboratory; SSL) to didactic training-as-usual (TAU) as a means of implementing CM across a multi-site opioid use disorder program. Hypotheses predicted that providers who received the SSL implementation strategy would 1) adopt CM faster and 2) deliver CM more frequently than TAU providers. In addition, we examined whether the effect of implementation strategy varied as a function of a set of theory-driven moderators, guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research: perceived intervention characteristics, perceived organizational climate, and provider characteristics (i.e., race/ethnicity, gender). Sixty providers (39 SSL, 21 TAU) across 15 clinics (7 SSL, 8 TAU) completed a comprehensive set of measures at baseline and reported biweekly on CM use for 52 weeks. All participants received didactic CM training; SSL clinics received 9 months of enhanced training, including access to an external coach, an in-house innovation champion, and a collaborative learning community. Discrete-time survival analysis found that SSL providers more quickly adopted CM; provider characteristics (i.e., race/ethnicity) emerged as the sole moderator of time to adoption. Negative binomial regression revealed that SSL providers also delivered CM more frequently than TAU providers. Frequency of CM adoption was moderated by provider (i.e., gender and race/ethnicity) and intervention characteristics (i.e., compatibility). Implications for implementation strategies for community-based training are discussed. •Contingency management (CM) works but is underutilized to treat opioid use disorders.•Comprehensive implementation strategies speed adoption & maximize CM delivery.•Organization, treatment and provider characteristics moderated adoption & delivery.