Discrete Choice Experiments on The Acceptability of Monetary-Based Health Treatments: A Replication and Extension to Deposit Contracts

Technology-based versus in-person deposit contract treatments for promoting physical activity

Deposit contracts involve participants depositing their own money and earning it back contingent on behavior change. Deposit contracts are empirically supported treatments for promoting health behavior, but they have a history of poor uptake. We compared the effectiveness and acceptability of technology-based versus in-person deposit contracts for promoting physical activity with 12 individuals. Participants' daily step counts were monitored using Fitbits across 6 weeks, and treatment preferences were assessed at the end of the study. The 2 types of treatments were equally effective in increasing physical activity, but the technology-based deposit contracts were preferred by most participants. Most participants also reported that their preference was related to convenience. Technology-based implementation may be one way to improve deposit contract uptake, while maintaining similar effectiveness compared to in-person procedures.

Technology-Based Contingency Management in the Treatment of Substance-Use Disorders

Contingency management is one of the most efficacious interventions to promote drug abstinence. Contingency management has traditionally been delivered in person so that clinicians could confirm drug abstinence and provide access to additional therapeutic services. Now, new technologies not only permit remote confirmation of abstinence, but also remote delivery of incentives. We discuss several technology-based tools to assess substance use, and new ways to deliver contingency management to promote tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis abstinence. These new tools have the potential to dramatically increase access while maintaining high levels of treatment fidelity. Technology-based methods also allow arranging group contingencies that harness online communities, and they permit targeting multiple health-risk behaviors with a combination of sensor-based technologies. Overall, there are unprecedented opportunities to link technology with contingency management to promote drug abstinence.