Using financial incentives to achieve healthy behaviour

doi:10.1136/bmj.b1415

Published 9 April 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b1415
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b1415

Analysis

Using financial incentives to achieve healthy behaviour

Theresa M Marteau, professor of health psychology¹, Richard E Ashcroft, professor of bioethics², Adam Oliver, RCUK senior academic fellow in health economics and policy³

¹ King’s College London, Guy’s Campus, London SE1 9RT , ² School of Law, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, ³ LSE Health, London School of Economics and Political Science, London WC2A 2AE

Correspondence to: T M Marteau theresa.marteau@kcl.ac.uk

Paying people to change their behaviour can work, at least inthe short term. However, as Theresa Marteau, Richard Ashcroft,and Adam Oliver explain, there are many unanswered questionsabout this approach

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Personal financial incentives are increasingly being used tomotivate patients and general populations to change their behaviour,most often as part of schemes aimed at reducing rates of obesity,smoking, and other addictive behaviours (table). Opinion ontheir use varies, with incentives being described both as "keyto reducing smoking, alcohol and obesity rates" and as "a formof bribery" and "rewarding people for unhealthy behaviour."We review evidence on the effectiveness of financial incentivesin achieving health related behaviour change and examine thebasis for moral and other concerns about their use.

View this table:

Examples of current incentive schemes aimed at changing health related behaviours

Financial incentives and disincentives inform the fiscal policiesof all governments. Disincentives, in the form of tobacco andalcohol taxes, are known to affect behaviour,¹⁰ but the effectof positive financial incentives is less clear. In theory, theywork on learning theory principles by providing . . . [Full text of this article]

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: Theresa Marteau talks about the Wellcome Trust�s new Centre for the Study of Incentives in Health.

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