Chocolate bar as an incentive did not increase response rate among physiotherapists: a randomised controlled trial
2008

Chocolate Bar as an Incentive for Physiotherapists

Sample size: 1027 publication Evidence: low

Author Information

Author(s): Jamtvedt Gro, Rosenbaum Sarah, Dahm Kristin Thuve, Flottorp Signe

Primary Institution: Norwegian Knowledge Centre for the Health Services

Hypothesis

Does a bar of dark chocolate increase the response rate among physiotherapists in a study on knee osteoarthritis?

Conclusion

A bar of dark chocolate did not increase the response rate in a prospective study of physiotherapy performance.

Supporting Evidence

  • The study involved 2798 physiotherapists, with 1027 in each group.
  • Only 510 physiotherapists responded, with 280 completing the data-collection form.
  • The response rates were 13.8% for the chocolate group and 13.4% for the control group.

Takeaway

Giving physiotherapists a chocolate bar didn't make them more likely to fill out a survey about their work.

Methodology

Physiotherapists were randomly assigned to receive either a chocolate bar with a survey or just the survey to measure response rates.

Potential Biases

Non-response bias may have affected the results due to low participation.

Limitations

The overall response rate was very low, and the chocolate may not have been a strong enough incentive.

Participant Demographics

Norwegian physiotherapists in private practice.

Statistical Information

Confidence Interval

95% CI: -3.44 to 2.6

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1186/1756-0500-1-34

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