The Study
The Association Between Incentive Designs and Health Assessment or Biometric Screening Completion
This study looked at whether people were more likely to get checked up if their boss gave them money or rewards, and found that people did more often when the reward was big and came right away. But it didn’t prove that the reward caused them to do it—they might have done it for other reasons too.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
Companies give people money or penalties to get them to do a health check-up, and how they give it matters a lot.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 542 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — getting money fast and in larger amounts nearly doubled the number of people who completed health checks, which could help prevent serious illnesses.
- 2People were 66% more likely to do the health check if they got money right away and it was a lot (56.7% did it) vs.
- 3if they got little money later (34.1% did it).
- 4Penalties also made people more likely to participate.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Year
2019
Authors
Kevin J. Heltemes, K. R. Pelletier, A. Ippolito, Diana Do, Brandon C Boylan
Related Content
Claims (4)
Financial incentives that offer a large cash reward paid right away lead to a 66% higher rate of people completing health assessments or biometric screenings than incentives that offer a small reward paid later.
The amount of money offered, how quickly it is given, how it is delivered, and how often it is provided are linked to whether people complete health assessments or biometric screenings.
Incentive programs that include a financial penalty are linked to more people completing Personal Health Assessments.
When a reward is given right after a behavior, that behavior is more likely to be repeated than when the reward is delayed.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.