Results Current evidence indicates that incentives can be effective in driving health behaviour change under certain provisos , while a number of misgivings continue to be deliberated on .
Conclusion These key principles can assist policy makers in making decisions on the use of financial incentives directed at achieving improvements in public health
Background The use of financial incentives or pay-for-performance programs for health care providers has triggered emerging interest in the use of financial incentives for encouraging health behaviour change .
Purpose This paper aims to identify key conditions under which the use of financial incentives for improvements in public health outcomes is most likely to be effective and appropriate .
Effects of voucher-based incentives on abstinence from cigarette smoking and fetal growth among pregnant women.
AIMS This study examined whether voucher-based reinforcement therapy ( VBRT ) contingent upon smoking abstinence during pregnancy is an effective method for decreasing  maternal smoking during pregnancy and improving fetal growth . DESIGN , SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS A two-condition , parallel-groups , r and omized controlled trial was conducted in a university-based research clinic . A total of 82 smokers entering prenatal care participated in the trial . INTERVENTION Participants were assigned r and omly to either contingent or non-contingent voucher conditions . Vouchers exchangeable for retail items were available during pregnancy and for 12 weeks postpartum . In the contingent condition , vouchers were earned for biochemically verified smoking abstinence ; in the non-contingent condition , vouchers were earned independent of smoking status . MEASUREMENTS Smoking outcomes were evaluated using urine-toxicology testing and self-report . Fetal growth outcomes were evaluated using serial ultrasound examinations performed during the third trimester . FINDINGS Contingent vouchers significantly increased point-prevalence abstinence at the end-of-pregnancy ( 41 % versus 10 % ) and at the 12-week postpartum assessment ( 24 % versus 3 % ) . Serial ultrasound examinations indicated significantly greater growth in terms of estimated fetal weight , femur length and abdominal circumference in the contingent compared to the non-contingent conditions . CONCLUSIONS These results provide further evidence that VBRT has a substantive contribution to make to efforts to decrease maternal smoking during pregnancy and provide new evidence of positive effects on fetal health
Results Current evidence indicates that incentives can be effective in driving health behaviour change under certain provisos , while a number of misgivings continue to be deliberated on .
Conclusion These key principles can assist policy makers in making decisions on the use of financial incentives directed at achieving improvements in public health
Background The use of financial incentives or pay-for-performance programs for health care providers has triggered emerging interest in the use of financial incentives for encouraging health behaviour change .
Purpose This paper aims to identify key conditions under which the use of financial incentives for improvements in public health outcomes is most likely to be effective and appropriate .