Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Jan 31, 2022
Date Accepted: Mar 31, 2022
Airtime Incentives to Improve Interactive Voice Response Survey Participation among Adults in Bangladesh and Uganda: Randomized Controlled Trials of to Test Impacts of Promised and Lottery Incentives
ABSTRACT
Background:
Globally, increased mobile phone penetration allows for remote data collection by interviewing respondents using interactive voice response (IVR) surveys, however, there has been little investigation about the amount of optimum incentive amount to obtain data from a representative sample in a reasonable timeframe in low- and middle-income countries.
Objective:
We assessed the effect of using different options of providing airtime incentives on cooperation and response rates of a noncommunicable disease IVR survey in Bangladesh and Uganda.
Methods:
The randomized controlled trial had three arms: 1) control arm with no incentive; 2) promised airtime incentive: 50 Bangladeshi Taka (BDT; $0.6) or 5000 Ugandan Shilling (UGX; $1.35); or 3) lottery incentive (500 BDT and 100,000 UGX) where the odds of winning the lottery were 1:20. Random digit dialing was used to sample eligible participants aged ≥18 years. The risk ratios (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for primary outcomes of response and cooperation rates were obtained using log-binomial regression model.
Results:
Between June 14 and July 14, 2017, and March 26 and April 22, 2017, 546,746 (1,165) and 178,572 (1,248) phone calls (complete interviews) were made, respectively, in Bangladesh and Uganda. The cooperation rates in Bangladesh and Uganda, respectively, were 28.4% and 40.9% in control, 39.3% and 59.9% in promised incentive, and 36.6% and 54.6% in lottery incentive groups. Cooperation rates were significantly higher in the promised incentive (RR 1.38, 95%CI 1.24, 1.55) and (RR 1.47, 95%CI 1.33, 1.62) and the lottery incentive groups (RR 1.28, 95%CI 1.15, 1.45) and (RR 1.34, 95%CI 1.21, 1.48) as compared to controls in Bangladesh and Uganda, respectively. The response rates were 21.0% and 32.4% in control, 26.5% and 41.2% in promised incentive, and 24.5% and 37.9% in lottery incentive groups in Bangladesh and Uganda, respectively. Response rates were significantly higher in the promised incentive (RR 1.26, 95%CI 1.14, 1.39) and (RR 1.27, 95%CI 1.16, 1.39) and the lottery incentive groups (RR 1.17, 95%CI 1.06, 1.29) and (RR 1.17, 95%CI 1.06, 1.29) as compared to controls in Bangladesh and Uganda, respectively.
Conclusions:
Providing either promised or lottery airtime incentives improved survey participation and obtained a large sample within a short period in two diverse countries. Clinical Trial: NCT03773146
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