Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ASCO Annual Meeting 2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

2024 ASCO Annual Meeting

Keep up to date with all the top stories and latest evidence with our hub page, including official congress videos and expert takeaways.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
International Journal of Behavioral Medicine
Published in: International Journal of Behavioral Medicine 1/2013

01-03-2013

What’s Good for the Goose is Good for the Gander. Guiding Principles for the Use of Financial Incentives in Health Behaviour Change

Authors: Marita C. Lynagh, Rob W. Sanson-Fisher, Billie Bonevski

Published in: International Journal of Behavioral Medicine | Issue 1/2013

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

The use of financial incentives or pay-for-performance programs for health care providers has triggered emerging interest in the use of financial incentives for encouraging health behaviour change.

Purpose

This paper aims to identify key conditions under which the use of financial incentives for improvements in public health outcomes is most likely to be effective and appropriate.

Methods

We review recent systematic reviews on their effectiveness in changing health behaviour and identify existing moral concerns concerning personal financial incentives.

Results

Current evidence indicates that incentives can be effective in driving health behaviour change under certain provisos, while a number of misgivings continue to be deliberated on. We outline a number of key principles for consideration in decisions about the potential use of incentives in leading to public health improvements.

Conclusion

These key principles can assist policy makers in making decisions on the use of financial incentives directed at achieving improvements in public health.
Literature
1.
Volpp KG, Pauly MV, Loewenstein G, Bangsberg D. P4P4P: an agenda for research on pay-for-performance for patients. Health Aff. 2009;28(1):206–14.CrossRef
2.
Petry NM. A comprehensive guide to the application of contingency management procedures in clinical settings. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2000;58:9–25.PubMedCrossRef
3.
Prendergast M, Podus D, Finney J, Greenwell L, Roll J. Contingency management for treatment of substance use disorders: a meta-analysis. Addiction. 2007;101:1546–60.CrossRef
4.
Greene J. Medicaid efforts to incentivize healthy behaviours. New Jersey: Center for Health Care Systems; 2007.
5.
Fernald L, Gertler P, Neufeld L. Role of cash in conditional cash transfer programmes for child health, growth and development: an analysis of Mexico’s Oportunidades. Lancet. 2008;371:828–37.PubMedCrossRef
6.
Report of the Expert Panel for the Children’ Fitness Tax Credit. Ottawa, Ontario: Department of Finance Canada; 2006.
7.
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP). Immunisation position paper. Melbourne, Vic.: RACGP; 2003.
8.
Gray M, Qu L, Weston R. Fertility and family policy in Australia. Canberra, Australia: Australian Instititute of Family Studies; 2006.
9.
Lussier JP, Heil SH, Mongeon JA, Badger GJ, Higgins ST. A meta-analysis of voucher-based reinforcement therapy for substance use disorders. Addiction. 2006;101(2):192–203.PubMedCrossRef
10.
National Preventative Health Taskforce. Tobacco control in Australia: making smoking history; 2009.
11.
Marteau TM, Ashcroft RE, Oliver A. Using financial incentives to achieve healthy behaviour. BMJ. 2009;338:1415.CrossRef
12.
Cahill K, Perera R. Competitions and incentives for smoking cessation. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews; 2008(Issue 3).
13.
Leeks KD, Hopkins D, Soler R, Aten A, Chattopadhyay S. Worksite-based incentives and competitions to reduce tobacco use. A systematic review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2010;38:S263–S74.PubMedCrossRef
14.
Jochelson K. Kicking bad habits. Paying the patient. Improving health using financial incentives. London, UK.: King’s Fund; 2007.
15.
Sutherland K, Leatherman S, Christianson J. Paying the patient: does it work? A review of patient-targeted incentives. London: QQUIP. Quest of Quality and Improved Performance. The Health Foundation; 2008.
16.
Scott A, Schurer S. Financial incentives, personal responsibility and prevention. Canberra: Discussion paper commissioned by the National Health and Hospitals Reform, Australian Government; 2008.
17.
Lagarde M, Haines A, Palner N. Conditional cash transfers for improving uptake of health interventions in low- and middle-income countries. JAMA. 2007;298(16):1900–10.PubMedCrossRef
18.
Fiszbein A, Schady N. Conditional cash transfers. Reducing present and future poverty. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank; 2009.CrossRef
19.
Paul-Ebhohimhen V, Avenell A. Systematic review of the use of financial incentives in treatments for obesity and overweight. Obesity Reviews. 2008;9:355–67.PubMedCrossRef
20.
Volpp KG, Troxel AB, Pauly MV, Glick HA, Puig A, Asch DA, et al. A randomized, controlled trial of financial incentives for smoking cessation. N Engl J Med. 2009;360:699–709.PubMedCrossRef
21.
Heil S, Higgins S, Bernstein I, Soloman L, Rogers R, Thomas C, et al. Effects of voucher-based incentives on abstinence from cigarette smoking and feral growth among pregnant women. Addiction. 2008;103:1009–18.PubMedCrossRef
22.
Volpp KG, John L, Troxel A, Norton L, Fassbender J, Lowenstein G. Financial incentive-based approaches for weight loss. A randomised trial. JAMA. 2008;300:2631–37.PubMedCrossRef
23.
Higgins S, Heil S, Soloman L, Plebani Lussier J, Abel R, Lynch M, et al. A pilot study on voucher-based incentives to promote abstinence from cigarette smoking during pregnancy and postpartum. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. 2004;6:1015–20.CrossRef
24.
Preston K, Umbricht A, Epstein D. Abstinence reinforcement maintenance contingency and one-year follow-up. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 2002;67:125–37.PubMedCrossRef
25.
Roll J, Huber A, Sodano R, Chudzynski J, Moynier E, Shoptaw S. A comparison of five reinforcement schedules for use in contingency management-based treatment of methamphetamine abuse. The Psychological Record. 2006;56:67–81.
26.
Thaler RH, Sunstein CR. Nudge. Improving decisions about health, wealth and happiness. Camberwell, Australia: Penguin Books; 2009.
27.
Marteau TM, Oliver A, Ashcroft RE. Changing behaviour through state intervention. When does an acceptable nudge become an unacceptable shove? BMJ. 2009;338:121–2.CrossRef
28.
Kahneman D, Tversky A. Prospect theory: an analysis of decision under risk. Econometrica. 1979;47:263–91.CrossRef
29.
Vlaev I, Dolan P. From changing cognitions to changing the context: a dual-route model of behaviour change/. London: Imperial College London Business School; 2009.
30.
31.
Klein E, Karlawish J. Challenges and opportunities for developing and implementing incentives to improve health-related behaviours in older adults. Journal of American Geriatrics Society. 2010;58:1758–63.CrossRef
32.
Deci EL, Koestner R, Ryan RM. A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. Psychological Bulletin. 1999;125:627–68.PubMedCrossRef
33.
Frey B, Jegen R. Motivation crowding theory. Journal of Economic Surveillance. 2001;15:590–611.
34.
Ryan R, Deci E. Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist. 2000;55:68–78.PubMedCrossRef
35.
Lee W, Reeve J, Xue Y, Xiong J. Similarities and differences in the neural activities of intrinsic motivation and incentive motivation. NeuroImage. 2009;47(Supplement 1):S39–41.
36.
McDonald R, Harrison S, Checkland K, Campbell S, Roland M. Impact on financial incentives on clinical autonomy and internal motivation in primary care: ethnographic study. BMJ. 2007;334(7608):1357–62.PubMedCrossRef
37.
38.
39.
Long JA, Helweg-Larsen M, Volpp KG. Patient opinions regarding ‘pay for peformance for patients’. J Gen Intern Med. 2008;23(10):1647–52.PubMedCrossRef
40.
Lynagh M, Bonevski B, Symonds I, Sanson-Fisher RW. Paying pregnant women to quit smoking during pregnancy? Acceptability among pregnant women. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. 2011:(in press).
41.
Malotte CK, Rhodes F, Mais KE. Tuberculosis screening and compliance with return for skin test reading among active drug users. Am J Public Health. 1998;88:792–6.PubMedCrossRef
42.
Ghitza U, Epstein D, Schmittner J, Vahabzadeh M, Lin JL, Preston K. Effect of reinforcement probabilty and prize size on cocaine and heroin abstinence in prize-based contingency management. Journal of Applied Behaviour Analysis. 2008;41:539–49.CrossRef
43.
Higgins S, Badger G, Budney A. Initial abstinence and success in achieving longer-term cocaine abstinence. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2000;8:377–86.PubMedCrossRef
44.
Petry N, Casarella T. Excessive discounting of delayed rewards in substance abusers with gambling problems. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 1999;56:25–32.PubMedCrossRef
Metadata
Title
What’s Good for the Goose is Good for the Gander. Guiding Principles for the Use of Financial Incentives in Health Behaviour Change
Authors
Marita C. Lynagh
Rob W. Sanson-Fisher
Billie Bonevski
Publication date
01-03-2013
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
International Journal of Behavioral Medicine / Issue 1/2013
Print ISSN: 1070-5503
Electronic ISSN: 1532-7558
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-011-9202-5

Other articles of this Issue 1/2013

International Journal of Behavioral Medicine 1/2013 Go to the issue

OriginalPaper

Predictors of Hearing Protection Behavior Among Firefighters in the United States

OriginalPaper

Disagreement in Doctor's and Patient's Rating About Medically Unexplained Symptoms and Health Care Use

OriginalPaper

Physical Activity and its Related Motivational Attributes in Adolescents with Different BMI

OriginalPaper

Cardiovascular Risk: Gender Differences in Lifestyle Behaviors and Coping Strategies

OriginalPaper

Beliefs About Expectations Moderate the Influence of Expectations on Pain Perception

Short Communication

Ecological Momentary Assessment of the Relationship between Intention and Physical Activity Behavior in Bariatric Surgery Patients