Attitudes Toward Evidence-Based Practices and Their Influence on Beliefs about Contingency Management: A Survey of Addiction Treatment Providers Across Canada

Date
2019-09-13
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Abstract
Contingency management (CM) is an evidence-based treatment for addictive disorders that is often underused in clinical practice. The attitudes and beliefs of frontline staff are frequently reported as barriers to the uptake and use of evidence-based treatments, including CM. Understanding these barriers are an important step in implementation and could impact an intervention’s efficacy. Thus, we investigated the influence of attitudes toward evidence-based practices (EBP) on beliefs about CM. Our sample included 74 (19.58% response rate) substance use disorder treatment providers from 33 programs across six Canadian provinces. Most providers were not familiar with CM and reported largely neutral attitudes toward CM. However, providers also endorsed a desire for additional training in CM. In our multilevel modelling (MLM) analysis, we found that providers who believed that clinical experience was more important than EBPs reported more general barriers toward CM and fewer positive beliefs about CM. Providers with more openness and greater overall positive attitudes toward the adoption of EBPs were more likely to endorse positive beliefs about CM. Certain demographic characteristics were also associated with beliefs about CM. Providers in recovery from a substance use disorder reported greater barriers to adopting CM. In addition, those with higher levels of education held more positive beliefs about CM. Our findings provide evidence to support the consideration of provider-level characteristics in the implementation of EBPs in Canadian settings. Further, our results highlight the importance of integrating psychoeducation and training into implementation efforts to support the success of CM interventions in Canadian clinical settings.
Description
Keywords
contingency management, evidence-based practices, attitudes, beliefs, addiction, substance use
Citation
Cowie, M. E. (2019). Attitudes Toward Evidence-Based Practices and Their Influence on Beliefs about Contingency Management: A Survey of Addiction Treatment Providers Across Canada (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.