Incentives for Motivation

(LEMURSSI Trial)

Age: 18 - 65

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Phase 1

Sponsor: University of Vermont

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: 1

200 Participants Needed

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial explores how different incentives can motivate people to maintain wellness activities. Participants will either receive rewards directly (Personal Incentives) or earn money for charity (Charity Incentives), with some having an extra chance to make up for missed activities (Restorative Incentives). The aim is to determine which type of incentive best encourages healthy habits. The trial seeks first-year undergraduate students who have a mobile device.

As a Phase 1 trial, the research focuses on understanding how these incentive strategies work in people, offering participants a unique opportunity to contribute to innovative wellness research.

Do I need to stop taking my current medications for the trial?

The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications.

Is there any evidence suggesting that this trial's treatments are likely to be safe?

Research shows that rewards can safely encourage healthy activities. For Charity Incentives, one study found that rewarding task completion with charitable donations is generally well-accepted, meaning people typically respond positively.

For Personal Incentives, studies have found that directly rewarding individuals can enhance safety and motivation without causing harm. These rewards have successfully improved workplace safety and performance.

In summary, both Charity and Personal Incentives are safe for participants, generally well-received, and do not cause harmful effects. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial's treatments?

Researchers are excited about the "Incentives for Motivation" trial because it's exploring how different types of incentives can influence behavior, offering fresh insights into motivation strategies. Unlike standard approaches that often rely on personal incentives alone, this trial includes charity-based incentives and restorative incentives. These unique methods could reveal how earning rewards for oneself or for a charity, and having a backup incentive for missed activities, can impact motivation and engagement. This could lead to more effective ways to encourage positive behaviors, benefiting both individuals and communities.

What evidence suggests that this trial's treatments could be effective for supporting engagement in wellness-related activities?

Research shows that financial rewards can help people change their health habits. Studies have found that personal rewards greatly increase the chances of achieving health goals, such as quitting smoking or exercising more. In this trial, some participants will receive personal incentives directly, while others will receive personal incentives with a restorative component if they miss an activity.

Rewards given to charity can also be effective. Research on charitable donations has found that money incentives improve fundraising results, especially in the short term. In this trial, some participants will earn money for charity, with or without a restorative incentive if they miss an activity. Thus, using rewards, whether for personal gain or charity, can strongly motivate participation in health activities. ^{6 7 8 9 10}

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for first-year undergraduate students who own a mobile device. It aims to explore if certain incentives can boost participation in wellness activities.

Inclusion Criteria

Current undergraduate student in their first year of school who owns a mobile device

Exclusion Criteria

Not applicable.

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Single Session Intervention

Participants receive a brief single-session-intervention (SSI) to provide education and strategies to improve a wellness-related goal

1 session

1 visit (in-person or virtual)

Incentive-based Activity Engagement

Participants engage in wellness-related activities with different incentive strategies over time

up to 6 months

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for completion of wellness activities and well-being measures

4 weeks

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• Charity Incentives
• Charity Restorative Incentives
• Personal Incentives
• Personal Restorative Incentives

Trial Overview

The study tests four types of incentives: Personal Restorative Incentives, Charity Incentives, Personal Incentives, and Charity Restorative Incentives, to see which encourages wellness activity engagement the most.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: Individual Receives Incentive -Restorative Incentive Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

The participant receives incentives directly. There is a restorative incentive if they miss an activity.

Group II: Individual Receives Incentive - No Restorative Incentive Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Participant receives incentives directly

Group III: Charity Receives Incentive -Restorative Incentive Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Participant earns money for charity. There is a restorative incentive if they miss an activity.

Group IV: Charity Receives Incentive - No Restorative Incentive Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Participant earns money for charity

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

University of Vermont

Lead Sponsor

Trials

283

Recruited

3,747,000+

Published Research Related to This Trial

Financial incentives can lead to sustained changes in health-related behaviors, such as smoking cessation and increased physical activity, with effects lasting up to 18 months after the initial incentive, and even three months after the incentives are removed.

Individuals with higher levels of deprivation showed greater responsiveness to financial incentives, particularly after 6 to 12 months, suggesting that these incentives may help reduce health inequalities, although their long-term effectiveness in reducing disease burden may be limited.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Personal financial incentives for changing habitual health-related behaviors: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Mantzari, E., Vogt, F., Shemilt, I., et al.[2023]

Incentives and competitions did not lead to significantly higher long-term smoking cessation rates, as evidenced by 17 studies, with no lasting effects observed beyond six months after the intervention.

While the use of incentives did not improve quit rates, they were found to enhance recruitment rates for smoking cessation programs, suggesting that rewarding participation could lead to a higher number of individuals successfully quitting smoking.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Competitions and incentives for smoking cessation. Cahill, K., Perera, R.[2022]

Ten European countries have established primary care quality indicators linked to financial incentives, with the number of indicators ranging from 1 to 134, potentially affecting physicians' income by up to 25%.

The study emphasizes the need for critical evaluation and continuous monitoring of these pay-for-performance schemes to assess their effectiveness in improving health outcomes and resource utilization.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Do family physicians need more payment for working better? Financial incentives in primary care. Kolozsvári, LR., Orozco-Beltran, D., Rurik, I.[2021]

In a study of 144 orthodontic patients, a reward system showed limited effectiveness in improving overall compliance, with only the oral hygiene scores of below-average compliers benefiting from the rewards compared to a control group.

The research indicated that while above-average compliers maintained their high compliance levels, the reward system may be particularly useful for motivating below-average compliers to follow treatment instructions.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effect of behavior modification on patient compliance in orthodontics. Richter, DD., Nanda, RS., Sinha, PK., et al.[2014]

The implementation of 'pay for performance' programs in dentistry faces challenges due to structural factors such as the current state of the dental insurance market and the need for better evidence-based clinical guidelines.

For these programs to be successful, there is a need for improved knowledge, the development of evidence-based performance measures, and better integration of clinical practice guidelines into the dental profession.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Pay for performance: will dentistry follow? Voinea-Griffin, A., Fellows, JL., Rindal, DB., et al.[2023]

A systematic analysis of 394 online comments from New York Times readers revealed that most people have negative perceptions of financial incentives for health improvement, viewing them as absurd or a reward for irresponsibility.

While some individuals supported financial incentives as a cost-effective way to prevent chronic diseases, the overall sentiment emphasized a desire for greater personal responsibility in health management, which may hinder the acceptance of such programs.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The New York Times readers' opinions about paying people to take their medicine. Park, JD., Metlay, J., Asch, JM., et al.[2015]

The paper distinguishes between two meanings of personal responsibility in health and discusses various policy options to promote it through health information and incentives.

It concludes that current data on the effectiveness of incentive programs is inadequate, suggesting that evaluation criteria should include not just cost but also changes in health and socioeconomic status of participants.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

[Incentivising personal responsibility: conceptual clarification and evidence]. Schmidt, H.[2012]

In South Africa, a voluntary patient incentive program led to significantly higher odds of receiving preventive care services among 2.7 million enrollees, with notable increases in services like cholesterol testing (odds ratio 2.70) and HIV testing (odds ratio 3.47).

Despite the positive impact of the incentive program on preventive care uptake, the overall rates of receiving these services remained low, indicating that while financial incentives can encourage participation, they may not be sufficient to achieve optimal preventive care levels.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Impact of a patient incentive program on receipt of preventive care. Mehrotra, A., An, R., Patel, DN., et al.[2021]

A study involving 1,217 participants found that personalized feedback significantly improved smoking cessation rates, with continuous abstinence at 3 and 12 months being twice as high in the feedback group compared to others.

In contrast, while a financial incentive increased the use of self-help materials, it did not improve cessation rates and was linked to higher relapse rates among those who quit.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Evaluation of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation interventions with a self-help smoking cessation program. Curry, SJ., Wagner, EH., Grothaus, LC.[2019]

The Pay-for-Performance system in healthcare aims to motivate providers and institutions by financially rewarding those who achieve high performance based on specific indicators.

Early results from various countries indicate that while the system is designed to improve healthcare outcomes, its actual impact on performance has been mixed, suggesting that further evaluation is needed.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Incentives for better performance in health care. Abduljawad, A., Al-Assaf, AF.[2021]

Citations

1.

researchgate.net

researchgate.net/publication/357184266_A_study_of_incentives_in_charitable_fundraising

(PDF) A study of incentives in charitable fundraising

Practical implications Results indicate that – at least in the short run – monetary incentives can result in higher fundraising outcomes.

2.

sciencedirect.com

sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214804323000174

The double dividend of social information in charitable giving

We conduct a framed field experiment to analyze the interplay between signaling or receiving social information and donors' inherent level of altruism.

3.

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6686221/

Changing health behaviors using financial incentives

A review of evidence found that providing vouchers contingent on testing for smoking were effective in reducing smoking rates in late pregnancy, ...

4.

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5514700/

Demotivating incentives and motivation crowding out in ...

This study tests for the effect of thank-you gifts during a nonprofit's direct-mail fundraising campaign and finds that gifts reduced donation rates in this ...

5.

clinicaltrials.gov

clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04747327

NCT04747327 | Incentives & Motivation for Behavior Change

The invitations will specify an opportunity to earn financial or social incentives for improving a healthy behavior. We will invite participants to earn ...

6.

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6022749/

Small Sustainable Monetary Incentives versus Charitable ...

Small Sustainable Monetary Incentives versus Charitable Donations to Promote Exercise: Rationale, Design, and Baseline Data from a Randomized Pilot Study.

7.

cambridge.org

cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-experimental-political-science/article/nothing-to-lose-charitable-donations-as-incentives-in-risk-preference-measurement/250605AA8324321C1389EA2043546231

Nothing to Lose: Charitable Donations as Incentives in ...

Risk preferences can be measured either by the point at which the subject switches from lottery A to lottery B, as a risk neutral subject would ...

8.

sciencedirect.com

sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306919223001872

An assessment of the quality and safety of donated food ...

This study describes a novel approach to visually identify and assess the safety and quality of food donations at an Australian food bank.

9.

academic.oup.com

academic.oup.com/book/56384/chapter/448318025

6 Information, Nudges, and Incentives - Oxford Academic

Chapter 6, “Information, Nudges, and Incentives,” discusses a series of evidence-backed techniques for overcoming the obstacles from Part I.

10.

pew.org

pew.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2023/12/incentives-can-improve-probation-success

Incentives Can Improve Probation Success

Frequency:Research suggests that incentives should be delivered at least four times more often than punishments.12; Swiftness: Criminal justice ...