Background: Contingency management (CM) is an evidence-based behavioral intervention for opioid use disorders (OUDs); however, CM adoption in OUD treatment centers remains low due to barriers at patient, provider, and organizational levels. In a recent trial, OUD treatment providers who received the Science to Service Laboratory (SSL), a multilevel implementation strategy developed by a federally funded addiction training center, had significantly greater odds of CM adoption than providers who received training as usual. This study examined whether CM adoption frequency varied as a function of provider sociodemographic characteristics (i.e., age, race/ethnicity, licensure) and perceived barriers to adoption (i.e., patient-, provider-, organization-level) among providers receiving the SSL in an opioid treatment program. Methods: Thirty-nine providers (67% female, 77% non-Hispanic white, 72% with specialty licensure, Mage = 42 [SD = 11.46]) received the SSL, which consisted of didactic training, performance feedback, specialized training of internal change champions, and external coaching. Providers completed a comprehensive baseline assessment and reported on their adoption of CM biweekly for 52 weeks. Results: Providers reported using CM an average of nine 2-week intervals (SD = 6.35). Hierarchical multiple regression found that providers identifying as younger, non-Hispanic white, and without addiction-related licensure all had higher levels of CM adoption frequency. Higher perceived patient-level barriers predicted lower levels of CM adoption frequency, whereas provider- and organization-level barriers were not significant predictors. Conclusions: The significant effect of age on CM adoption frequency was consistent with prior research on predictors of evidence-based practice adoption, whereas the effect of licensure was counter to prior research. The finding that CM adoption frequency was lower among racially/ethnically diverse providers was not expected and suggests that the SSL may require adaptation to meet the needs of diverse opioid treatment providers. Entities using the SSL may also wish to incorporate a more explicit focus on patient-level barriers.
