Motivational assessment of non-treatment buprenorphine research participation in heroin dependent individuals.

BACKGROUND

Heroin abuse remains an important public health problem, particularly in economically disadvantaged areas. Insight into this problem is gained from interviewing addicted individuals. However, we lack systematic data on factors that motivate heroin users to participate in non-treatment research that offers both financial incentives (compensation) and non-financial incentives (e.g., short-term medication).

AIM: To better understand the relative importance of several types of personal motivations to participate in non-treatment buprenorphine research, and to relate self-motivations to social, economic, demographic and drug use factors.

METHODS

Heroin dependent volunteers (N=235 total; 57 female and 178 male; 136 African American, 86 Caucasian, and 13 Other) applied for non-therapeutic buprenorphine research in an urban outpatient setting from 2004 to 2008. We conducted a semi-structured behavioral economic interview, after which participants ranked 11 possible motivations for research participation.

RESULTS

Although the study was repeatedly described as non-treatment research involving buprenorphine, participants often ranked some treatment-related motivations as important (wanting to reduce/stop heroin use, needing a medication to get stabilized/detoxify). Some motivations correlated with income, heroin use, and years since marketing of buprenorphine. Two dimensions emerged from principal component analysis of motivation rankings: (1) treatment motivation vs. greater immediate needs and (2) commitment to trying alternatives vs. a more accepting attitude toward traditional interventions. In summary, heroin addicts' self-motivations to engage in non-therapeutic research are complex--they value economic gain but not exclusively or primarily--and relate to variables such as socioeconomic factors and drug use.