During the IP16 interview, we asked respondents to locate, download, and use the Sea Hero Quest app. Sea Hero Quest is a multi-platform adventure game (available for Apple and Android phones and tablets) that was designed specifically for the Alzheimer’s Research UK charity to help advance the understanding of spatial navigation, and therefore understand one of the first symptoms of dementia…
Unlike previous app studies, we did not find that the mode of issue had an effect on the rate of take-up. There was also no statistically significant difference by mode of interview for those who took part online and those who were interviewed face-to-face by an interviewer. Those who were interviewed by telephone were, however, less likely to take part in the app study. We also find that offering a large incentive (£30) rather than a more standard incentive (£10), increased app take-up. It also increased the rate at which those who used the app completed it. This effect was found for those who did not consider themselves gamers, as well as occasional and regular gamers…
The larger incentive slightly decreased the average absolute bias for the characteristics examined, but only by a small amount. The biggest barrier to increased participation is still the unwillingness to participate in the additional study.