Framing Clinical Trial Enrollment for Patients With Peripheral Artery Disease

The Effect of opt-in Versus Opt-out Framing on Clinical Trial Enrollment Among Patients With Peripheral Artery Disease

It is uncertain whether opt-out framing will increase participation in a clinical trial intended to promote physical activity in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD). This study will test whether opt-in or opt-out framing of study participation upon initial contact affects the proportion of patients who ultimately enroll in the study and the demographic characteristics of enrolled patients.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Peripheral Artery Disease
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Opt-out

Detailed Description

The GAMEPAD study is a two-arm randomized controlled trial aimed at evaluating whether a home-based walking program with automated coaching augmented with gamification and behavioral economic principles improves functional capacity in patients with PAD. GAMEPAD will be conducted using the Way to Health platform, and patients will enroll and consent for participation online, with available help from a study coordinator by telephone. The present study will leverage the GAMEPAD enrollment process to test whether opt-in or opt-out framing of study participation upon initial contact affects the proportion of patients who ultimately enroll in the GAMEPAD study and the demographic characteristics of enrolled patients.

Eligible patients will be contacted via email to determine their interest in participation in the GAMEPAD study. Patients will be randomized 3:1 to an email message framing trial participation in a standard opt-in manner versus an email message framing trial participation in an opt-out manner.

Patients randomized to opt-in framing will be instructed to visit the Way to Health website to enroll in the GAME PAD study, or to call or email the study coordinator with questions or for assistance in enrolling. Patients randomized to opt-out framing will be informed that a study coordinator will be calling them in the coming days to discuss enrollment in the study.

Baseline characteristics of patients randomized to each framing method will be abstracted from the electronic health record and Penn Data Store, and will include age, sex, race/ethnicity, and medical comorbidities. Whether contacted patients created an account on the Way to Health website and/or ultimately consented for enrollment in the study will be captured.

For all outcomes, we will compare patients initially presented with study participation via opt-in framing versus opt-out framing. The primary outcome will be the proportion of patients that enroll in the GAMEPAD study. We will also report the proportion of enrolled patients that failed to complete the GAMEPAD study among those patients that ultimately enrolled.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 5176
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Pennsylvania
    • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104
      • University of Pennsylvania

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

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

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• At least 18 years of age
• Have been seen in the University of Pennsylvania Health System
• Have an ICD-10 code consistent with peripheral artery disease (I70.2x, I70.3x-I70.7x, I73.9) or peripheral artery disease on their problem list
• Have an email address on file with the University of Pennsylvania Health System

Exclusion Criteria:

• Previously indicated unwillingness to be contacted by email for participation in research studies

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Opt-in; Patients randomized to opt-in framing will be instructed to visit the Way to Health website to enroll in the study, or to call or email the study coordinator with questions or for assistance in enrolling.
Experimental: Opt-out; Patients randomized to opt-out framing will receive an email that frames participation in the study as part of the standard of care, and will be informed that a study coordinator will be calling them in the coming days to start enrollment in the study unless they opt out of participation.	Behavioral: Opt-out; A study coordinator will call the patient unless they opt-out. See arm description for more details.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Enrollment in GAMEPAD Intervention Study	The proportion of patients that enroll in the GAMEPAD intervention study	Enrollment (period of approximately 6 months)

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Participants That Fail to Complete Study	The proportion of patients enrolled in GAMEPAD that failed to complete the study	through the end of the 24-week study period

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Pennsylvania
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Alexander Fanaroff, MD, MHS, University of Pennsylvania

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 5, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 31, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): January 8, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 27, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 27, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): September 2, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): December 24, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 19, 2025
• Last Verified: December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Vascular Diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases; Atherosclerosis; Arteriosclerosis; Arterial Occlusive Diseases; Peripheral Vascular Diseases; Peripheral Arterial Disease
• Other Study ID Numbers: 842681

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No