Contingency Management for Stimulant Use Disorder: Progress, Challenges, and Recommendations

Abstract

The United States is currently in the fourth wave of the overdose crisis wherein stimulants together with fentanyl are the major drivers of overdose deaths. To date, there has been limited effort outside the US Veterans Administration Health System health system to disseminate evidence-based treatment for people with stimulant use disorder. Contingency management, a behavioral intervention in which positive reinforcement is provided for a target behavior indicating treatment progress, has decades of empirical support but limited implementation in real-world, non-US Veterans Administration Health System settings. The purpose of the report is to provide an overview of contingency management, the barriers to adoption, and recommendations for overcoming these barriers.