THURSDAY, April 10, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Modest financial incentives significantly improve adherence to hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination programs among patients receiving opioid dependence treatment, according to a study published online April 9 in The Lancet.
Tim Weaver, Ph.D., from Imperial College London, and colleagues enrolled 210 participants at 12 drug treatment service sites that provided opioid substitution therapy and nurse-led HBV vaccination with a super-accelerated schedule (vaccination days 0, 7, and 21). Participants were randomly allocated 1:1:1 to provide vaccination without incentive (treatment as usual; 67 patients), with fixed value contingency management (three £10 vouchers; 78 patients), or escalating value contingency management (£5, £10, and £15 vouchers; 65 patients). On-time attendance at appointments was rewarded in the contingency management groups.
The researchers found that 45 percent of participants in the fixed value contingency management group (odds ratio, 12.1; P < 0.0001) and 49 percent of participants in the escalating value contingency management group (odds ratio, 14.0; P < 0.0001) completed clinically appropriate HBV vaccination within 28 days, compared to the usual-care group.
"Modest financial incentives delivered in routine clinical practice significantly improve adherence to, and completion of, HBV vaccination programs in patients receiving opioid substitution therapy," the authors write.
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