BEST Study: Behavioral Economics for HIV Treatment Adherence Uganda
Uganda, East Africa
The BEST (Behavioral Economic Incentives to Support HIV Treatment Adherence) study in Uganda tests lottery-based incentives to overcome "present bias"—the tendency to prioritize immediate costs over long-term health benefits. Unlike costly traditional incentives ($1000+), behavioral economics-informed small, frequent prizes leverage probability overweighting. The study compares incentives tied to clinic visits/viral suppression versus electronically measured daily adherence, addressing why only ~60% of people with HIV take medications as prescribed.
Theme Areas
Behavior Goal
Improve antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence through behaviorally-informed lottery incentives that overcome present bias
Methods & Approaches
Channels
Implementers & Partners
- Mbarara University of Science and Technology
- University of California San Francisco
- Harvard Medical School
Donors & Sponsors
- NIH/NIAID
- Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
Key Takeaways
- 1Present bias causes patients to prioritize avoiding immediate medication side effects over long-term health
- 2Small, frequent lottery rewards can be more effective than large traditional incentives
- 3Humans overweight small probabilities—lotteries leverage this cognitive bias
- 4Commitment devices help shift decisions from "hot" emotional to "cold" rational states