The effect of a voucher incentive on a survey response rate in the clinical setting: a quasi-randomized controlled trial

Abstract

BackgroundFinancial rewards have been shown to be an important motivator to include normal healthy volunteers in trials. Less emphasis has been put on non-healthy volunteers. No previous study has investigated the impact of a voucher incentive for participants in a cross-sectional study in a clinical setting. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of a small voucher incentive on a survey response rate in a clinical setting at the point-of-care in a quasi-randomized controlled trial (q-RCT).MethodsThis was an ancillary study to a survey of patients subsequent to their appointment with a physician investigating physician-patient communication. We randomized participants to receive or not receive a voucher for a coffee (costs: 1 €) enclosed in the survey package. Alternation of groups was performed on a weekly basis. The exact Chi-square test was used to compare response rates between study arms.ResultsIn total, 472 participants received the survey package. Among them, 249 participants were quasi-randomized to the voucher arm and 223 to the control group. The total response rate was 46%. The response rates were 48% in the voucher arm and 44% in the control group. The corresponding risk ratio was 1.09 (95% CI: 0.89, 1.32).ConclusionsA small voucher incentive to increase the response rate in a survey investigating physician-patient communication was unlikely to have an impact. It can be speculated whether the magnitude of the voucher was too low to generate an impact. This should be further investigated in future real-world studies.

Measurement and determinants of catastrophic health expenditure among elderly households in China using longitudinal data from the CHARLS

“…By examining the incidence and intensity of CHE and by identifying the main variables associated with CHE, several policy implications emerge from our study: (i) Poor households may abandon treatment, and the government can issue free medical vouchers for their use and promote their basic medical needs. Many countries are using this approach to narrow the health gap between different income groups [ 39 , 40 ]. (ii) For households that already experience CHE, it is necessary to gradually improve medical assistance and ensure that their normal life is not affected by health expenditures.…”

Measurement and determinants of catastrophic health expenditures among the elderly in China using longitudinal data from the CHARLS

“…By examining the incidence and intensity of CHE and by identifying the main variables associated with CHE, several policy implications emerge from our study: (i) For poor households, there may be an abandonment of treatment, the government can issue free medical vouchers for their use and promote their basic medical needs. Many countries are using this approach to narrow the health gap between different income groups [39,40]. (ii) For households that have already had CHE, it is necessary to gradually improve medical assistance and ensure that their normal life is not affected by health expenditures.…”

Altruistic donation to improve survey responses: a global randomized trial

“…Prior work has been mixed as to whether financial motivations impact survey response and what monetary amount is most effective. The financial incentive equivalent to a cup of coffee, did not influence survey response rates in a trial of 472 patients [7]. Given the wide range in global coffee consumption and eating habits, specific food or beverage incentives are unlikely to strike a chord globally [24].…”

“…Studies recruiting health-care personnel have often been a target for such research studies with mixed responsiveness [4]. Varied trials evaluating the impact of incentives on survey responsiveness have exclusively focused on European and North American respondents with a wide range of results [5–7].…”

“…The methodologies that produce reasonable response rates in Europe and United States may not be as effective in a broader, international cohort due to distinct perceptions and motivations in behavior that are culturally specific [11, 12]. Such prior efforts to motivate response in western countries include: offering a cup of coffee or small monetary incentives of $0–10 [7, 11, 12].…”