Risks and rewards of using prepaid vs. postpaid incentive checks on a survey of physicians

Abstract

BackgroundSurvey researchers use monetary incentives as a strategy to motivate physicians’ survey participation. Experiments from general population surveys demonstrate that prepaid incentives increase response rates and lower survey administration costs relative to postpaid incentives. Experiments comparing these two incentive strategies have rarely been attempted with physician samples.MethodsA nationally representative sample of oncologists was recruited to participate in the National Survey of Precision Medicine in Cancer Treatment. To determine the optimal strategy for survey incentives, sample members were randomly assigned to receive a $50 prepaid incentive check or a $50 promised (postpaid) incentive check. Outcome measures for this incentives experiment include cooperation rates, speed of response, check-cashing behavior, and comparison of hypothetical costs for different incentive strategies.ResultsCooperation rates were considerably higher for sample members in the prepaid condition (41%) than in the postpaid condition (29%). Similar differences in cooperation rates were seen for physicians when stratified by region, size of the physician’s metropolitan statistical area, specialty, and gender by age. Survey responders in the prepaid condition responded earlier in the field period than those in the postpaid condition, thus requiring fewer contacts. In the prepaid group, 84% of sample members who responded with a completed survey cashed the incentive check and only 6% of nonresponders cashed the check. In the postpaid condition, 72% of survey responders cashed the check; nonresponders were not given a check. The relatively higher cooperation rates and earlier response of the responders in the prepaid condition was associated with a 30% cost savings for the prepaid condition compared to the postpaid incentive condition.ConclusionsThe results of this study suggest that the rewards of offering physicians a prepaid incentive check outweigh the possible risks of nonresponders cashing the check. The relative cost benefit of this strategy is likely to vary depending on the amount of the incentive relative to the costs of additional contact attempts to nonresponders.

Factors Associated With Oncologist Discussions of the Costs of Genomic Testing and Related Treatments

“…The study sample was obtained from the 2017 National Survey of Precision Medicine in Cancer Treatment, a nationally representative survey of medical oncologists conducted between February and May 2017 (31,32). The survey was sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, National Human Genome Research Institute, and the American Cancer Society and collected information on oncologists' sociodemographic and practice characteristics and use of genomic tests (32).…”

Comparison of up-front cash cards and checks as incentives for participation in a clinician survey: a study within a trial

“…A randomized study demonstrated higher clinician survey response rates with $50 versus $20 check incentives [ 6 ]. Timing of the incentive also impacts the likelihood of response, with up-front unconditional cash incentives yielding superior response rates compared with conditional cash incentives paid only after providers respond to the survey [ 7 , 8 ] or lottery-based incentives [ 9 ]. Although cash cards and gift cards are increasingly used in survey research, little is known about their impact on clinician survey response rates.…”

Incentive delivery timing and follow-up survey completion in a prospective cohort study of injured children: a randomized experiment comparing prepaid and postpaid incentives

“…Prepaid cash incentives are less expensive when offered in smaller amounts than postpaid incentives. Recipients of prepaid incentives delivered as a check are unlikely to cash them if not participating in the study, making them more cost-effective [ 46 ]. Prepaid incentives can also establish goodwill and trust [ 47 ].…”