NCT04176146

Nudging Healthcare Organizations to Adopt New Care Delivery Practices

Accelerating the Use of Evidence-based Innovation in Health Care Systems

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 2,387 (actual)
• Sponsor: Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This two-arm, parallel group randomized controlled trial will assess the impact of written social norms messaging (i.e., behavioral 'nudges') on healthcare organization administrators' decision to access online resources that support the adoption of evidence-based healthcare delivery practices. The healthcare delivery practices include the use of population screening tools, clinical practice guidelines, and shared decision making training.

Detailed description

The purpose of this study is to assess if behavioral 'nudges' impact the likelihood of healthcare organization administrators accessing technical assistance resources to support uptake of care delivery practices that: (1) have the potential to improve patient outcomes; and (2) have already been adopted by most healthcare organizations. A 'nudge' is a change in the way information is presented that attempts to steer people in a certain direction but does not restrict their choices. The investigator will conduct a randomized controlled trial of written messages to healthcare administrators at three types of healthcare organizations - physician practices, hospitals and healthcare systems - from among 3,402 administrators who completed Dartmouth's National Survey of Healthcare Organizations and Systems (NSHOS) in 2017-2018. In Fall 2019 the investigator will mail a customized report to all NSHOS respondents that compares their organizations' survey responses to their peer organizations. The investigator will randomize the 2,387 respondents whose organizations have not implemented one or more of up to seven chosen care delivery practices to cover letters with or without social norms messaging. The written messaging in the 'control condition' cover letter lists the practices for which the NSHOS team has prepared technical assistance materials in support of practice adoption, and contains a link to these online resources. The 'intervention condition' additionally highlights the organization's performance compared to its peers in adopting the practices using visual data display and explicit social norms messaging.

Conditions

• Delivery of Health Care

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Peer comparison and social norms messaging	This group will receive a letter noting that their organization has not implemented at least one common care delivery practice that a majority their peers have already implemented. The letter will also note the percentage of peer organizations that have implemented the practice. This is done using peer comparison data and social norms messaging.

Timeline

• Start date: 2019-12-09
• Primary completion: 2020-02-09
• Completion: 2020-06-08
• First posted: 2019-11-25
• Last updated: 2020-06-26

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States