The Effect of Time-Slot Scheduling and Active Choice on Biometric Screening Participation

The goal of this project is to see if behavioral nudges will increase an individual's likelihood of participating in a biometric screening. The behavioral nudges under consideration are assigning preselected time-slots, encouraging subjects to make an active choice, and sending reminders.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Preventative Health
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Scheduling and Active Choice for Biometric Participation

Detailed Description

The employees in our sample will schedule their time slot for a biometric screening via e-mail and a health service provider website. Much as is the case in the current system, the control group will be informed via e-mail of the window of dates during which they can take part in the on-site screening and given instructions for scheduling an appointment. The first treatment group, the active choice and default option arm, will be informed via e-mail of a preselected time and date for their screening, which we will have generated randomly. This group will be asked to accept the default time, schedule a different time, defer the scheduling decision, or decline to receive a screening by clicking the appropriate option in the email. The second treatment group, the active choice only arm, will be given the same information as the control group, but they will also be asked to make an appointment immediately, defer the scheduling decision, or decline to receive a screening. The two treatment groups will also receive email reminders one week before their appointment and again one day before their appointment.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 11000
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Missouri
    • St. Louis, Missouri, United States, 63121
      • Express Scripts

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Employee of Express Scripts
• Employee at a targeted Express Scripts location

Exclusion Criteria:

• Non-employees of Express Scripts

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Control Arm; The control arm will be informed via e-mail of the window of dates during which they can take part in the on-site screening and will be given instructions for scheduling an appointment.	Other: Scheduling and Active Choice for Biometric Participation; The control group will be informed via e-mail of the window of dates during which they can take part in the on-site screening and will be given instructions for scheduling an appointment. The active choice and default option arm will be informed via e-mail of a preselected time and date for their screening, which we will have generated randomly. This group will be asked to accept the default time, schedule a different time, defer the scheduling decision, or decline to receive a screening by clicking the appropriate option in the email. The active choice only arm will be given the same information as the control group, but they will also be asked to make an appointment immediately, defer the scheduling decision, or decline to receive a screening.
Experimental: Active Choice and Default Option Arm; The active choice and default option arm will be informed via e-mail of a preselected time and date for their screening, which we will have generated randomly. This group will be asked to accept the default time, schedule a different time, defer the scheduling decision, or decline to receive a screening by clicking the appropriate option in the email.	Other: Scheduling and Active Choice for Biometric Participation; The control group will be informed via e-mail of the window of dates during which they can take part in the on-site screening and will be given instructions for scheduling an appointment. The active choice and default option arm will be informed via e-mail of a preselected time and date for their screening, which we will have generated randomly. This group will be asked to accept the default time, schedule a different time, defer the scheduling decision, or decline to receive a screening by clicking the appropriate option in the email. The active choice only arm will be given the same information as the control group, but they will also be asked to make an appointment immediately, defer the scheduling decision, or decline to receive a screening.
Experimental: Active Choice Only Arm; The active choice only arm will be given the same information as the control group, but they will also be asked to make an appointment immediately, defer the scheduling decision, or decline to receive a screening.	Other: Scheduling and Active Choice for Biometric Participation; The control group will be informed via e-mail of the window of dates during which they can take part in the on-site screening and will be given instructions for scheduling an appointment. The active choice and default option arm will be informed via e-mail of a preselected time and date for their screening, which we will have generated randomly. This group will be asked to accept the default time, schedule a different time, defer the scheduling decision, or decline to receive a screening by clicking the appropriate option in the email. The active choice only arm will be given the same information as the control group, but they will also be asked to make an appointment immediately, defer the scheduling decision, or decline to receive a screening.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of employees enrolled in the intervention who complete a biometric screening through their work on-site clinic.	We will measure the employee biometric screening completion rates for each arm of the study.	up to 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
• Collaborators: National Institute on Aging (NIA)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: David I Laibson, Ph.D, National Bureau of Economic Research

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: April 1, 2011
• Primary Completion (Actual): August 1, 2011
• Study Completion (Actual): August 1, 2011

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 30, 2010
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 25, 2011
• First Posted (Estimate): March 1, 2011

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 12, 2017
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 10, 2017
• Last Verified: April 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Behavioral Economics; Active Choice; Biometric Screenings; Default
• Other Study ID Numbers: 0003; P30AG034532 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)