Behavioral Economics Incentives for Health Management

Evaluation of Behavioral Economics Patient Incentive Strategies for Health Management

Incentives are increasingly being used to motivate health behavior in medical studies. Small cash payments conditional on certain health and welfare promoting behaviors have shown efficacy in both real world and experimental settings. Furthermore, in incentive studies, behavioral economics has been shown to amplify behavior change beyond what is possible with simple cash payments, but little is known about how varying incentive payment design may impact health behavior. The goal of the present study is to evaluate a new incentive payment instrument, lottery insurance, to determine its impact on adherence to the target health behavior, attendance at free exercise classes provided by QueensCare Family Clinics, a safety-net medical clinic.

Inclusion Criteria:

• 18 to 64 years of age
• BMI between 25-40
• Receiving care in QueensCare Family Clinics

Exclusion Criteria:

• Failure to obtain exercise clearance from physician