# Cultivating Recovery: A Pilot Study of Digital Contingency Management for Co-occurring Opioid and Alcohol Use Disorder

> **NIH NIH R34** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2024 · $390,000

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Opioid agonist therapies (i.e. buprenorphine and methadone) are first-line treatments for opioid use disorder
(OUD) and overdose prevention. Sequalae of alcohol use disorder (AUD) can interfere with opioid agonist
therapy retention, worsen OUD symptoms, and increase risk of overdose. Contingency management (CM) is
an evidence-based approach for promoting opioid agonist retention and alcohol abstinence that could address
both behaviors simultaneously to improve outcomes for co-occurring opioid and alcohol use disorder (OUD-
AUD). This study will pilot an innovative and highly scalable digital CM treatment, delivered via mobile device,
among Medicaid beneficiaries with OUD-AUD and conduct implementation strategy development for a future
effectiveness-implementation hybrid trial. The study includes three aims. Aim 1 will identify optimal settings and
approaches to engage Medicaid beneficiaries with OUD-AUD in digital CM through analysis of Medicaid claims
data. Aim 2 will convene an Advisory Board to develop a roadmap for implementation, sustainability, and health
equity for digital CM in real-world care, and Aim 3 will include a mixed methods randomized pilot trial to test
feasibility and acceptability of digital CM for OUD-AUD. We will compare opioid agonist retention and alcohol
abstinence during the intervention period and follow-ups among those randomized to digital CM vs. an
attention- and incentive-matched comparison condition. Exit interviews with participants and index sites will
elucidate patient and provider perceptions of factors influencing digital CM adoption to inform the future
effectiveness-implementation hybrid trial. Together, these aims will ensure inclusion of a diverse,
representative sample from appropriate clinical locations guided by Medicaid claims data, perspectives from
Medicaid beneficiaries with lived experience of OUD-AUD, and our Advisory Board—hastening research-to-
practice translation. Digital CM optimized for use with Medicaid beneficiaries with OUD-AUD could address a
major public health problem among a diverse and underserved population. This study’s emphasis on
implementation, sustainability, and health equity aligns with national priorities to address real-world
complexities of addressing co-occurring OUD-AUD, with high likelihood of real-world impact.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10996795
- **Project number:** 1R34AA031870-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** Lara Nicole Coughlin
- **Activity code:** R34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $390,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-20 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10996795

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10996795, Cultivating Recovery: A Pilot Study of Digital Contingency Management for Co-occurring Opioid and Alcohol Use Disorder (1R34AA031870-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10996795. Licensed CC0.

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