Incentive Timing and Staff Survey Participation in the National Dementia Workforce Study

Abstract

The dementia care workforce faces persistent challenges related to training, job satisfaction, and retention. The National Dementia Workforce Study (NDWS) examines these issues through surveys with nursing home (NH) and assisted living (AL) community staff across the United States. In Wave 3, NDWS implemented methodological experiments to increase participation and improve workforce representativeness. This presentation evaluates the effect of pre- and post-incentive amounts on staff survey response rates. Staff from 65 NH and 66 AL communities were randomized to receive either a $10 pre-incentive plus $90 post-incentive or a $5 pre-incentive plus $95 post-incentive. Cash pre-incentives were mailed with invitations; post-incentives were delivered as e-gift cards after web-based interview completion. Response rates were compared overall and by subgroup. To date, 3,670 staff from 131 NH and AL communities have been invited. Overall response was higher among staff receiving the $5/$95 incentive than the $10/$90 incentive (53.7% vs. 50.2%), consistent for both NH staff (52.0% vs. 47.3%) and AL staff (56.0% vs. 51.4%). However, response patterns varied over time: the $10/$90 group had higher response during the first six weeks after contact, whereas the $5/$95 group had higher response thereafter. Findings suggest that larger pre-incentives may accelerate early response, but their effect diminishes over time, when the post-incentive may become more salient. Studies with shorter field periods may benefit from higher pre-incentives; longer field periods may benefit from higher post-incentives.