UNSTRUCTURED
Introduction
Substance use disorders are prevalent globally. In 2019, there has been a large increase in individuals abusing opioids; a 56% increment from previous estimates, and this led to the World Health Organization declaring there being an Opioid epidemic. Locally, in Singapore, Opioids are also highly abused. The recent advances in experimental psychology has led to there being better understanding of automatic, unconscious processes, such as that of attentional biases. Prior research has demonstrated there being robust attentional biases amongst individuals diagnosed with opioid use disorders; and even those who are maintained on methadone maintenance therapy. To date, there remains no prior studies that have evaluated the effectiveness of bias modification amongst Asian individuals, and amongst a cohort of participants with opioid use disorders. No prior evaluations have evaluated the effectiveness of a codesigned mobile attention bias modification intervention. Given this, this current study investigates the effectiveness of the codesigned intervention as compared to the conventional intervention in reducing the magnitude of the attentional biases, where effectiveness is defined as a substantial significant reduction in the magnitude of attentional biases (when comparing the magnitude at baseline and that at the end of the intervention).
Methods and Analysis
This proposed study is a non-blinded randomized controlled trial, comparing the codesigned attention bias modification intervention against the conventional intervention. Prior to randomization, all participants will be assessed to determine if they are eligible and if they have underlying positive baseline biases. This study uses a 2 (Intervention: codesigned versus conventional) x 2 (time: baseline, completion of intervention) design. Power computation reveals that 162 participants per arm are required, considering a 65% attrition rates (for participants without baseline biases). Participants enrolled into this trial are either randomized into receiving the conventional intervention or the codesigned intervention.
Ethics and Dissemination
We are in the process of seeking extramural funding. Once funding has been secured, we will apply for ethical approval from the National Healthcare Group’s Domain Specific Research Board. The results arising from the study will be disseminated by conferences and research publications.
Attention Bias Modification Treatment for Pediatric Anxiety Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Trial
