NCT01207232

The Effect of a Planning Prompt on Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Rates

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 3,272 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Pennsylvania · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The investigators conducted a 3-arm randomized controlled trial to test whether a low-cost planning intervention could increase influence vaccination rates.

Detailed description

Seasonal influenza causes 20,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths in the U.S. each year. Past psychology research has demonstrated that prompting people to form an implementation plan of the form, "When situation x arises, I will implement response y," increases attainment of desired goals because the desired behavior is linked to a concrete future moment. This type of planning prompt is a "nudge" in the direction of desired behavior that can be implemented at minimal expense and does not restrict individual autonomy. We conducted a 3-arm randomized controlled trial to test whether a low-cost planning intervention could increase influence vaccination rates. We show that planning prompts can be successfully applied to improve health behaviors.

Conditions

• Seasonal Influenza

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Planning Prompt	A prompt to write down a planned date (or date and time) for getting a flu shot
BEHAVIORAL	Control Condition	A basic reminder mailing prompted each subject to get their flu shot.

Timeline

• Start date: 2009-10-01
• Primary completion: 2009-11-01
• Completion: 2010-04-01
• First posted: 2010-09-22
• Last updated: 2010-09-22

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States