What About Money? Effect of Small Monetary Incentives on Enrollment, Retention, and Motivation to Change Behaviour in an HIV/STD Prevention Counselling Intervention: The Project RESPECT Study Group, M.L. Kamb et al., 74 Sexually Transmitted In ... (1998)

This paper discusses a study in which small monetary incentives were found to enhance recruitment and retention in an HIV/STD prevention counseling intervention program. The Project RESPECT Study Group invited men and women attending five urban STD clinics across the country (Baltimore, MD; Denver, CO; Long Beach and San Francisco, CA; and Newark, NJ) to enroll in a series of face-to-face risk reduction counseling sessions, offering participants either $15 in cash or $15 in goods and certificates for each additional session attended after the initial one. The study showed that enrollment was higher among the group offered money (31%) than the group offered other incentives (23%). Likewise, those offered money were more likely to attend an additional session (67% vs. 46%) and to complete all scheduled sessions (55% vs. 37%). Although some authors have suggested that paid participants may be less motivated to make behavioral changes because they lack the true desire to do so, this study found that rates of new STDs were similar among participants offered money and those offered other incentives—indicating that money did not adversely affect motivation. Furthermore, while early acceptance rates in the study were low, the authors note that later pilot studies have seen enrollment rates as high as 90% at some sites and 50% overall, and an 82% rate of intervention completion. In conclusion, the paper proposes that monetary incentives may be useful in encouraging high-risk individuals to participate in and complete counseling or other public health interventions.

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