The impact of alternative incentive schemes on completion of health risk assessments.
OBJECTIVE
The biggest challenge for corporate wellness initiatives is low rates of employee participation. We test whether a behavioral economic approach to incentive design (i.e., a lottery) is more effective than a direct economic payment of equivalent monetary value (i.e., a grocery gift certificate) in encouraging employees to complete health risk assessments (HRAs).


METHODS
Employees were assigned to one of three arms. Assignment to a treatment arm versus the nontreatment arm was determined by management. Assignment to an arm among those eligible for treatment was randomized by office.


METHODS
A large health care management and information technology consulting company.


METHODS
A total of 1299 employees across 14 offices participated.


METHODS
All employees were eligible to receive $25 for completing the HRA. Those in the lottery condition were assigned to teams of four to eight people and, conditional on HRA completion, were entered into a lottery with a prize of $100 (expected value, $25) and a bonus value of an additional $25 if 80% of team members participated. Those in the grocery gift certificate condition who completed an HRA received a $25 grocery gift certificate. Those in the comparison condition received no additional incentive.


METHODS
HRA completion rates.


METHODS
Logistic regression analysis.


RESULTS
HRA completion rates were significantly higher among participations in the lottery incentive condition (64%) than in both the grocery gift certificate condition (44%) and the comparison condition (40%). Effects were larger for lower-income employees, as indicated by a significant interaction between income and the lottery incentive.


CONCLUSIONS
Lottery incentives that incorporate regret aversion and social pressure can provide higher impact for the same amount of money as simple economic incentives.
Behavioural Finance Group, Barclays Wealth, London, United Kingdom.
Emily
E
Haisley
Kevin G
KG
Volpp
Thomas
T
Pellathy
George
G
Loewenstein
D003256:Community Participation / Q000379:methods*; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D011315:Preventive Medicine / Q000379:methods; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D040241:Social Marketing; D014481:United States