Abstract
Pro-social behaviours in the health system range from voluntary (unpaid) <em>time</em> donations supporting health and social care services, to <em>monetary</em> donations funding medical research, to <em>biological material</em> donations such as blood transfusions and organ transplants, among other types of donation. Without these pro-social behaviours, health systems would face chronic shortages and operational challenges. Hence, an important question for policy design is how we stimulate such pro-social behaviours? We argue that although pro-social behaviours are motivated by altruism and ‘benevolent rewards’, governments can indeed encourage them by designing ‘compatible incentives’, by removing ‘disruptive constraints’, or through a combination of both. We illustrate our argument with examples of several pro-social behaviours, including the donation of human tissues, fluids and organs; monetary donations to health-related causes; as well as volunteering in health-related settings (the donation of time). We further address how these interventions interact with health care donors’ behavioural attitudes, including altruism and empathy.
Highlights
3.3 Altruism budget One of the concerns of those studying pro-social behaviour is whether the individuals have a fixed amount of altruism, or an ‘altruism budget’ [26]. This means that an increase in an individual performing one type of pro-social behaviour reduces the likelihood of their performing another type of pro-social behaviour
6.1 Blood donation First, the use of new designs involving monetary equivalent rewards, such as a health checks or health information, may prove an adequate ‘compatible incentive’ with other self-interest goals, among younger donors, for whom such information can help them engage in preventive activities [35]
Pro-social behaviours are central to the well-functioning of a health system
Summary
Incentives can include any policy instrument that can change the reward offered to a donor for acting pro-socially or benevolently. We discuss the selected evidence concerning health-related pro-social behaviours, focussing on the donation of human tissue, fluids and organs; monetary donations to health-related causes and volunteering in healthrelated settings. 8 There are numerous other examples of general and specific constraints on pro-social behaviour in health, ranging from organisational and management practices, to family involvement or lack of it, to transport costs, to inconvenience in a monetary donation process.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
