Table 3.

Collapsed variables to form a conceptual variable ‘Risk’

(Risk) Collapsed variables	Categories of new variable
	Low risk	High risk
Performance measure	Absolute: incentive is paid for quality improvement not dependent on other providers e.g. incentive paid per patient immunized	Relative: incentive is paid for attaining a specific rank relative to other providers e.g. incentives paid to clinicians or hospitals in top 2 performing quartiles
Domain of performance measured	Within clinicians control: incentive payments are based on process and structural outcomes e.g. number of children immunized, routine measurement of blood pressure of patients every month	Not within clinicians control: payment of incentives to health providers for health outcomes e.g. reduction in blood pressure of patients or reduction in mortality rates from a specific disease
Time lag	Short time lag: Payment of incentives immediately after measurement of performance) or four months or less.	Long time lag: Payment of incentives more than 4 months after measurement of performance