While cash rewards have a place in health promotion programmes, it’s not the only effective motivator, say Duke-NUS Medical School’s Eric Finkelstein and Michelle Chow.
We all know that exercising and staying fit is important, but sometimes we need a little push to get off the couch. Since its inception in 2015, the launch of the Health Promotion Board’s National Steps Challenge has been met with overwhelming success. Offering health points that can be exchanged for cash-like rewards such as NTUC FairPrice vouchers, the programme has garnered a whopping 1.7 million participants - more than a quarter of Singapore’s population.
Such trends are not confined to Singapore. According to a recent World Health Organization report, almost one-third of adults globally, or a staggering 1.8 billion people, are “physically inactive”, meaning they do not meet the global recommendation of at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week. If the current trajectory continues, this number is expected to increase to 35 per cent by 2030.
Such step increments have been shown to be clinically significant as walking an extra 1,000 steps a day has been linked to a 15 per cent reduction in overall mortality, whilst an extra 500 steps a day is linked to a 7 per cent reduction in deaths from“But with cash I can buy anything I want, why not just give cash?” some might question.
In fact, a series of studies conducted by Choi & Presslee among the general population suggest that hedonic rewards can be a stronger motivator than cash when they offer new experiences, are fun or exciting and are perceived to be distinct from regular income. It is also worth mentioning that hedonic rewards can be potentially more cost-effective than cash. Organisers of physical activity programmes, for example, could offer a S$50-like hedonic reward without actually having to spend that amount, by securing bulk discounts or forming partnerships with travel agencies, event organisers and entertainment providers.
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