Design of financial incentive programmes for smoking cessation: A discrete choice experiment

Financial incentive programmes promote smoking cessation. However, the incentive amount which should be provided – and how this may interact with other programme characteristics – is unknown. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of the design of incentive programmes for smoking cessation on current smokers’ perceptions of programmes and willingness to enrol.An online discrete choice experiment was conducted amongst adult current smokers residing in the United Kingdom (N = 430). Hypothetical incentive programmes were described using five attributes (incentive amount, incentive type, frequency of sessions, reward schedule, programme location). Participants responded to a series of choice sets comprised of two hypothetical programmes. For each set, participants selected their preferred programme. They then specified whether they would enrol in their preferred programme if it were available. Analyses also considered the effect of participant income on preferences.Overall, participants preferred higher amounts over lower amounts, cash over vouchers, healthcare settings over workplaces, and consistent amounts over an escalating schedule. One session per week was the most preferred session frequency. Willingness to enrol increased quadratically with the incentive amount, although this increase slowed for higher amounts. Although middle- and high-income smokers preferred slightly higher amounts (cf. low-income participants), enrolment choices did not differ by income.The characteristics of incentive programmes influence smokers’ perceptions of programmes and willingness to enrol. Higher amounts may encourage greater enrolment rates, but there will likely be a ceiling point beyond which increasing the incentive amount does not meaningfully increase enrolments.

Nicotine & Tobacco Research , résumé, 2021

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