The effects of monetary incentives on COVID-19 vaccination uptake in Ghana
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN66056835 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN66056835 |
| ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT) | Nil known |
| Clinical Trials Information System (CTIS) | Nil Known |
| Protocol serial number | Nil known |
| Sponsor | University of Oxford |
| Funders | Nuffield College, University of Oxford, Hitotsubashi Institute for Advanced Study, Universidad de Santiago de Chile |
- Submission date
- 18/01/2022
- Registration date
- 21/01/2022
- Last edited
- 21/01/2022
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Infections and Infestations
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
Making sure as many people as possible throughout the world are vaccinated against COVID-19 is a critical challenge. While COVAX is planning mass vaccination of Africa in 2022, there are substantial challenges. Paying people cash incentives for being vaccinated has been proposed as a way to encourage more people in Africa to get vaccinated.This study will use a randomized control trial to test whether cash incentives and health messages make people in Ghana more likely to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
The randomised controlled trial will randomly select participants from rural households. These participants will be randomly assigned to four video treatment arms: a placebo, a standard health message, a high cash incentive ($10) and a low cash incentive ($3). The aim of the experiment is to test whether cash incentives and health video messages make people more likely to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Identifying the effect of these different incentive strategies will promote increased uptake of COVID-19 vaccines and make the vaccine roll-out more efficient.
Who can participate?
Anyone over the age of 18 years who, at the time of the study, has not received a COVID-19 vaccination, and has no COVID-19 symptoms, can participate.
What does the study involve?
Participants will be randomly assigned to one of four interventions:
1. A brief video message that provides general information about the benefit of using solar power to charge household electrical appliances (which is used as the 'placebo' control intervention)
2. A 45-second video message that contains health-related information promoting COVID-19 vaccination
3. Low Cash Incentive treatment video – the first 30 seconds are identical to the health message video – the last 15 seconds inform viewers that that they will earn the equivalent of $US3 if they receive a COVID-19 vaccine shot within the next 6 weeks
4. High Cash Incentive treatment video – the first 30 seconds are identical to the health message video – the last 15 seconds inform viewers that that they will earn the equivalent of $US10 if they receive a COVID-19 vaccine shot within the next 6 weeks
The participants will be contacted again after 6 weeks to check if they have been vaccinated.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
All participants are likely to benefit from information about COVID-19 vaccination, or information on the benefits of solar power. Those assigned to the cash incentive videos will be paid if they get vaccinated against COVID-19 within 6 weeks. Any risk from taking part in the study is very low. Careful arrangements have been made to minimize the risks of participants catching COVID-19 during the study.
Where is the study run from?
The study is being run by the University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, together with researchers from the University of Ghana Business School, Legon, Ghana.
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
December 2021 to April 2022
Who is funding the study?
The University of Oxford (UK), the Hitotsubashi Institute for Advanced Study (Japan) and University of Santiago (Chile)
Who is the main contact?
Prof Philip Clarke, Philip.clarke@ndph.ox.ac.uk
Contact information
Principal investigator
Health Economics Research Centre
Richard Doll Building
Old Road Campus
Oxford
OX3 7LF
United Kingdom
 ORCID ID |
0000-0002-7555-5348 |
|---|---|
| Phone | +44 7944838951 |
| Philip.Clarke@NDPH.ox.ac.uk |
Study information
| Primary study design | Interventional |
|---|---|
| Study design | Single-centre randomized controlled trial |
| Secondary study design | Randomised controlled trial |
| Study type | Participant information sheet |
| Scientific title | CANDOUR Ghana protocol: Ghana COVID-19 vaccinations and financial incentives |
| Study acronym | CANDOUR2GHANA |
| Study objectives | Subjects offered financial incentives or video health messages will have higher vaccine rates than subjects in the placebo treatment group who receive no financial incentives for vaccinations. |
| Ethics approval(s) | Approved 05/01/2022, University of Oxford Social Sciences Department of Economics Research Ethics Committee (DREC) (Department Of Economics, Manor Road Building, Manor Road, Oxford OX1 3UQ; Uk +44 (0)1865 281292; ethics@economics.ox.ac.uk), ref: ECONCIA21-22-28 |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | Prevention of COVID-19 by promoting COVID-19 vaccine uptake. |
| Intervention | Treatment 1: A placebo video that provides general information about the benefit of using solar power to charge household electrical appliances. Treatment 2: Standard COVID-19 vaccine promotional and information video. Treatment 3: Low Cash Incentive treatment – the first 30 seconds are identical to the health video – the last 15 seconds inform viewers that that they will earn $3 if receive a COVID-19 vaccine within 6 weeks. Treatment 4: High Cash Incentive treatment – the first 30 seconds are identical to the CDC video – the last 15 seconds inform viewers that that they will earn $10 if receive a COVID-19 vaccine within 6 weeks. Randomization: Stage 1: Within each district, village clusters are randomly assigned to each of the four treatments using a computer algorithm. Stage 2: Within each village, each fourth household is selected following random walk instructions provided to each enumerator using a computer algorithm. Stage 3: Within each household, enumerators identify all eligible respondents and employs a computer generated random number to select one of the individuals. |
| Intervention type | Behavioural |
| Primary outcome measure(s) |
COVID-19 vaccination within 6 weeks of receiving one of the four randomly assigned interventions measured using a bespoke survey |
| Key secondary outcome measure(s) |
Stated intention to have a COVID-19 vaccination with 6 weeks of receiving one of the four randomly assigned interventions measured using a bespoke survey |
| Completion date | 15/04/2022 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Healthy volunteer |
|---|---|
| Age group | Adult |
| Lower age limit | 18 Years |
| Sex | All |
| Target sample size at registration | 6552 |
| Key inclusion criteria | 1. Over the age of 18 years 2. Have not received a COVID-19 vaccination 3. Agree to conduction in accordance with the COVID-19 safety protocol |
| Key exclusion criteria | Having symptoms of COVID-19 at the time of the intervention |
| Date of first enrolment | 24/01/2022 |
| Date of final enrolment | 01/03/2022 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- Ghana
Study participating centre
Accra
P.O. Box LG 78
United Kingdom
Results and Publications
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | No |
|---|---|
| IPD sharing plan summary | Data sharing statement to be made available at a later date |
| IPD sharing plan | The data-sharing plans for the current study are unknown and will be made available at a later date |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Participant information sheet | Participant information sheet | 11/11/2025 | 11/11/2025 | No | Yes |
| Study website | Study website | 11/11/2025 | 11/11/2025 | No | Yes |
Editorial Notes
21/01/2022: Trial's existence confirmed by University of Oxford
