Exploring Different Incentive Structures Among US Adults Who Use e-Cigarettes to Optimize Retention in Longitudinal...

Area of Science:

• Public Health Research Methods
• Behavioral Science
• Digital Health Studies

Background:

• Longitudinal cohort studies are essential for tracking health behaviors like e-cigarette use over time.
• High follow-up rates are crucial for robust data in web-based longitudinal studies.
• Monetary incentives are often used but optimizing their structure remains a challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effectiveness of two incentive structures on participant engagement in a web-based survey.
• To identify the optimal incentive strategy for maximizing survey completion rates among US adult e-cigarette users.

Main Methods:

• A web-based longitudinal cohort study involved 1804 US adult e-cigarette users (≥5 days/week).
• Participants were randomized into two groups: conditional ($30 upon completion) or hybrid ($15 pre, $15 post).
• Survey progress and demographic data were analyzed using chi-square tests.

Main Results:

• The conditional incentive group showed significantly higher survey initiation (73.4% vs. 62.6%) and valid completion rates (57% vs. 44.5%).
• Eligibility rates differed (86.3% vs. 81.4%), but survey completion among eligible participants was similar.
• Demographics of valid completers did not significantly differ between the two incentive groups.

Conclusions:

• A conditional incentive structure, delivering the full amount upon survey completion, is more effective for maximizing participation in this population.
• This finding suggests that web-based surveys targeting US adult e-cigarette users could benefit from a post-completion incentive model.
• Both incentive structures yielded comparable demographic profiles, indicating no bias towards specific participant types.