The Impact of Alternative Social Assistance Disbursement on Drug-related Harm

Drug Use Clinical Trial

— TASA  

Official title:

The Impact of Alternative Social Assistance Disbursement on Drug-Related Harm: a Randomized Control Trial

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Terminated

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT02457949
• Other study ID #: H14-02401
• Status: Terminated
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: October 27, 2015
• Est. completion date: September 30, 2019

Study information

• Verified date: November 2020
• Source: University of British Columbia
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

This study evaluates whether altering the timing and frequency of social assistance disbursement reduces drug related-harms that increase on the days surrounding monthly synchronized government social assistance cheque issue.

Description:

Coordinated monthly income assistance payments, while seeking to alleviate poverty, can also have negative and unintended impacts, particularly among people who use illicit drugs (PWUD). Observational research has identified escalations in drug-related harm coinciding with monthly assistance payments, such as overdose, treatment interruption, hospital admissions and public disorder. This project varies the timing and frequency of income assistance disbursement, and evaluates whether varying income assistance disbursement reduces drug-related harm coinciding with coordinated income assistance.

Conducted among 273 PWUD, participants will be allocated for 6 income assistance cycles to a control or one of two intervention arms. Participants in the control arm will receive payments according to the existing monthly government schedule. Participants in the intervention arm will receive their income assistance: (1) monthly on a day different from government cheque issue; or (2) semi-monthly on days different from government cheque issue. The intervention will be evaluated using qualitative and quantitative methods for its impact on drug use and related harms.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Terminated
• Enrollment: 194
• Est. completion date: September 30, 2019
• Est. primary completion date: January 2, 2019
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 19 Years to 64 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• be =19 years of age or older

• reside in greater Vancouver, Canada

• report regular use of illicit drugs other than cannabis

• receive monthly provincial income assistance

• are not currently administered (where cheque issue/money is externally managed)

• be eligible and willing to be a client of the local credit union who will administer the intervention

• report intensified drug use around government cheque issue days

• provide written informed consent

• be willing to comply with study procedures

Exclusion Criteria:

• plan to relocate outside Vancouver

• have plans to discontinue income assistance

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Drug Use

Intervention

Other:
• Non-synchronized social assistance receipt
Social assistance disbursement outside government cheque issue week
• cheque divided into two equal disbursements
Social assistance disbursement divided into two equal payments

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Canada	British Columbia Centre on Substance Use	Vancouver	British Columbia

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of British Columbia	BC Centre on Substance Use

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Canada, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Illicit drug use on government cheque issue days	Timeline Follow Back (TLFB) assessed increase of drug use defined as an increase in the frequency of drug use of at least 40% or an increase in the number of drugs used during the 3 days beginning with government cheque issue day, compared to non-cheque issue days.	26 weeks
Secondary	Illicit drug use on non-government cheque issue days	Timeline Follow Back (TLFB) assessed increase of drug use defined as an increase in the frequency of drug use of at least 40% or an increase in the number of drugs used during the 3 days beginning with individual cheque issue day (among intervention participants), compared to non-cheque issue days.	26 weeks
Secondary	Hospital admissions on government cheque issue days	Emergency Department, Emergency Department Mental Health and substance use hospitalizations in the three days beginning with government cheque issue day compared to non-cheque issue days.	26 weeks
Secondary	Overdose	Self-reported non-fatal overdose and hospital record verified fatal overdose on the three days beginning with government cheque issue day compared to non-cheque issue days.	26 weeks
Secondary	Police service utilization	Self-reported and police record-verified interactions with police or use of police services on the three days beginning with government cheque issue day compared to non-cheque issue days.	26 weeks

External Links

•   British Columbia Centre on Substance Use