Trial reportBMC health services research2004
A randomised controlled trial to determine the effect on response of including a lottery incentive in health surveys [ISRCTN32203485].
Trial report in BMC health services research, 2004. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Methods to increase response to postal and electronic questionnaires.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Methods to increase response to postal and electronic questionnaires.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2009Pooled it
- Optimising patient engagement for assessing total joint arthroplasty outcomes - a randomised controlled trial.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025Trial
- What impact do questionnaire length and monetary incentives have on mailed health psychology survey response?British journal of health psychology · 2017Trial
- The impact of non-responders on health and lifestyle outcomes in an intervention study.BMC research notes · 2014Trial
- The effect of training on question formulation among public health practitioners: results from a randomized controlled trial.Journal of the Medical Library Association : JMLA · 2008Trial
- The effect of cash lottery on response rates to an online health survey among members of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons: a randomized experiment.Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publiqueTrial
- Loss to 5-year follow-up in the population-based Telemark Study: risk factors and potential for bias.BMJ open · 2023Article
- Impact of different financial incentive structures on a web-based health survey: do timing and amount matter?Connected health and telemedicine · 2023Article
- Behavioral economics implementation: Regret lottery improves mHealth patient study adherence.Contemporary clinical trials communications · 2019Article
- Improving response rate and quality of survey data with a scratch lottery ticket incentive.BMC medical research methodology · 2012Article
- Retaining young people in a longitudinal sexual health survey: a trial of strategies to maintain participation.BMC medical research methodology · 2010Article
- Early life factors, childhood cognition and postal questionnaire response rate in middle age: the Aberdeen Children of the 1950s study.BMC medical research methodology · 2005Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPostal questionnaires are an economical and simple method of data collection for research purposes but are subject to non-response bias. Several studies have explored the effect of monetary and non-monetary incentives on response. Recent meta-analyses conclude that financial incentives are an effective way of increasing response rates. However, large surveys rarely have the resources to reward individual participants. Three previous papers report on the effectiveness of lottery incentives with contradictory results. This study aimed to determine the effect of including a lottery-style incentive on response rates to a postal health survey.
methodsRandomised controlled trial.
settingNorth and West Birmingham. 8,645 patients aged 18 or over randomly selected from registers of eight general practices (family physician practices).
interventionInclusion of a flyer and letter with a health questionnaire informing patients that returned questionnaires would be entered into a lottery-style draw for pound 100 of gift vouchers. CONTROL: Health questionnaire accompanied only by standard letter of explanation.
main outcome measuresResponse rate and completion rate to questionnaire.
results5,209 individuals responded with identical rates in both groups (62.1%). Practice, patient age, sex and Townsend score (a postcode based deprivation measure) were identified as predictive of response, with higher response related to older age, being female and living in an area with a lower Townsend score (less deprived).
conclusionThis RCT, using a large community based sample, found that the offer of entry into a lottery style draw for pound 100 of High Street vouchers has no effect on response rates to a postal health questionnaire.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.