Financial Incentives, Not Behavioral Nudges, Led to Optimized HIV Testing among Pregnant Women in a High-Burden Urban Population in Ecuador

A randomized clinical trial was conducted between May 21 and Oct 5, 2018, to allocate pregnant women in Ecuador into three study arms: information only, soft commitment (i.e., a behavioral nudge), and financial incentives. All participants received an informational flyer, including the address of a testing location. Participants in the soft-commitment arm signed and kept a form on which they committed to get tested for HIV. Those in the financial incentive arm received a $10 incentive when tested for HIV. Those in the incentive arm had higher odds of getting an HIV test as compared to the information-only participants, while information-only participants had higher odds of getting an HIV test as compared to soft commitment participants.