Rewards plus a community programme helped more people stay off drugs

The review

1. 01

   Who took part

   The review combined 50 trials of 6,942 adults with cocaine or amphetamine problems. Their average age was about 37, and 36 in 100 were women.

2. 02

   What they did

   Groups got usual treatment or one of several programmes, alone or combined. The main ones were rewards for drug-free urine tests, a community programme and talking therapy. Most lasted about 12 weeks, and the community programme built up family, work and free-time life.

3. 03

   What happened

   Rewards plus a community programme got more people off drugs than usual treatment, at the end and later. Rewards alone helped at the end, not later on. The summary says only the combined treatment worked at the end, and two parts give slightly different numbers of people.

What the review found

1. HelpedGoals

   Across 46 trials, rewards plus a community programme helped more people stay off drugs at the end.

   • Rule: Get a reward or payment for doing ittested

   Pooled analysis of 46 studies · vs people who got usual treatment · behaviour was recorded · the authors rated their certainty moderate

2. HelpedGoals

   Across 37 trials, rewards plus a community programme still helped more people stay off drugs later on.

   • Rule: Get a reward or payment for doing ittested

   Pooled analysis of 37 studies · vs people who got usual treatment · behaviour was recorded

3. HelpedGoals

   Across 46 trials, rewards alone helped more people stay off drugs at the end.

   • Rule: Get a reward or payment for doing ittested

   Pooled analysis of 46 studies · vs people who got usual treatment · behaviour was recorded · the authors rated their certainty moderate

4. HelpedOther outcomes

   Across 43 trials, rewards plus a community programme meant fewer people dropped out.

   • Rule: Get a reward or payment for doing ittested

   Pooled analysis of 43 studies · vs people who got usual treatment · behaviour was recorded · the authors rated their certainty high

Source