Do Noncontingent Incentives Increase Survey Response Rates among Mental Health Providers? A Randomized Trial Comparison

Surveys can be a useful tool for mental health services research. Unfortunately, clinicians typically show low response rates to surveys. To determine whether noncontingent incentives would increase responses among clinicians, we compared no incentive versus four incentives (mood magnet, $1, $2, $5) on response to a 7-page self-report survey of mental health assessment and treatment practices in a sample of 500 clinicians from the 5 largest professional guilds. Noncontingent monetary incentives significantly increased response rate compared to no incentive across all disciplines. Noncontingent monetary incentives are discussed as a cost-effective method for increasing survey response rate among mental health clinicians.