Modest Gift Card Boosts Enrollment Of Low-income Participants In Alzheimer’s Registry

Offering a humble gift paper importantly accrued enrollment of low-income individuals successful a diligent registry designed to accelerate Alzheimer's illness objective trials, a caller USC study finds.

Why it matters: Effective strategies are needed to amended practice of marginalized groups successful Alzheimer's objective trials. Despite ongoing statement among researchers astir nan morals of financial incentives for objective proceedings enrollment, location has been small statement connected nan due usage and size of incentives.

About nan experiment: Nearly 50,000 adults 50 and older without a dementia test were invited complete email aliases matter connection to enroll successful the Alzheimer Prevention Trials (APT) Webstudy, which intends to accelerate objective tests by identifying and search individuals who whitethorn beryllium astatine higher consequence for processing Alzheimer's. The participants each received attraction done an integrated region wellness strategy that chiefly serves Medicaid enrollees.

They were randomly assigned into 3 groups. An progressive power group received a elemental invitation to register; a 2nd group was offered a $25 Amazon gift paper for enrolling; and a 3rd group was offered, arsenic a reward for enrolling, introduction into a prize drafting for a $2,500 Amazon gift paper pinch 1-in-100 likelihood of winning.

The results: The mini gift paper connection accrued enrollment by almost 40% compared to nan message-only power group. Participants who were white, antheral aliases enrolled successful Medicaid responded strongest to nan incentive. The opportunity to triumph overmuch larger prize money, however, did not summation enrollment.

Key takeaways: Although nan mini gift paper connection importantly accrued enrollment, nan message-only attack was a overmuch cheaper and much cost-effective attack to registering low-income patients. Ultimately, investing successful outreach to underrepresented communities whitethorn beryllium a much effective usage of diligent registry resources, researchers concluded.

About nan study
The lead authors are Mireille Jacobson, co-director of nan USC Schaeffer Center's Aging and Cognition programme and professor astatine nan USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, and Doris Molina-Henry, a Schaeffer clever clever and adjunct professor of investigation neurology astatine nan Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Institute (ATRI).

The study, published Aug. 22 in JAMA Health Forum, was conducted done the Alzheimer's Trial Recruitment Innovation Lab (ATRIL), a collaboration of nan Schaeffer Center, ATRI and Howard University that seeks to diversify objective proceedings subordinate recruitment. ATRIL is funded by nan American Heart Association. The study was besides supported successful portion by the Clinical Trial Recruitment Lab, funded by nan Schaeffer Center and Gates Ventures. Please spot nan study for writer disclosures.