Deciding on and Distributing Incentives in RDS

The double incentive structure is a central component of RDS methodology. This chapter explains why incentives are important, and presents issues that should be considered before deciding on what incentives to use. We address how incentives can be made culturally acceptable for the study population, the dangers of having incentives that are too high or too low, and how the distribution of incentives can be organized in a way that addresses both the security of participants and the formal requirements of project accounting. The final section addresses the ethical issues that are raised with the use of incentives in the recruitment of respondents.