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Engagement in Digital Mental Health Interventions: Can Monetary Incentives Help?
Eliane M Boucher1, Haley E Ward1, Amelia C Mounts1
1Happify Health, New York, NY, United States.
Frontiers in Psychology
|December 6, 2021
Summary
Monetary incentives may boost engagement in digital mental health interventions (DMHI). A pilot study explored how financial incentives affect user engagement and well-being in DMHI, suggesting potential benefits and drawbacks for future research.
Area of Science:
- Digital mental health
- Behavioral science
- Health economics
Background:
- Digital mental health interventions (DMHI) offer scalable access to care but suffer high dropout rates, especially in open-access models.
- Research has identified dropout predictors but less is known about engagement-enhancing features.
- Monetary incentives (MI) are a potential strategy to improve user engagement in DMHI.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the potential of monetary incentives (MI) to increase user engagement in digital mental health interventions (DMHI).
- To review existing literature on MI for health behavior change.
- To present findings from a pilot study examining MI's effect on DMHI usage and well-being.
Main Methods:
- Literature review on MI for health behavior change (diet, substance use, medication adherence).
- Pilot study using the DMHI Happify, testing varying levels of MI on user engagement and subjective well-being.
Main Results:
- Review indicates MI can influence health behaviors.
- Pilot study data on usage and well-being changes in response to different MI levels.
Conclusions:
- MI show promise for enhancing engagement in DMHI.
- Potential drawbacks and ethical considerations of using MI in DMHI require careful examination.
- Further research is needed to optimize MI strategies for digital mental health.
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