Nudges to Improve Health Behaviors That Limit COVID-19 Spread

NCT ID: NCT04379375

Last Updated: 2020-10-05

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: TERMINATED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 45 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2020-07-27
• Study Completion Date: 2020-09-30

Brief Summary

This investigation is a randomized intervention trial that evaluates behavioral nudges (BN) to increase hand washing behavior and subsequently reduce COVID-19 spreading to a targeted high-risk patient population based in Wisconsin.

Conditions

Health Behavior; COVID-19

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: PREVENTION
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Inertia

Participants simply receive and subsequently have "default" access (i.e., readily and immediately available) to handwashing (HW) materials. This condition will functionally serve as a control comparison. As the term implies, inertia capitalizes on minimizing effort necessary (e.g., going to the grocery store) to engage in HW behavior in one's personal environment.

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Nudge

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Application of behavior-change strategies based on principles of behavioral economics, decision-making heuristics, psychological/environmental variables.

Anchoring

Involves once again providing "default access" to HW materials as above, but adds an explicit written cue to wash hands at a rate of (15) times per day, which is placed directly on the soap dispenser. The stimulus is intended to deliberately prime participant thinking (and subsequent behavior) towards a higher reference point that "overshoots" a desired target rate of 10+ daily HWs.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Nudge

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Application of behavior-change strategies based on principles of behavioral economics, decision-making heuristics, psychological/environmental variables.

Interventions

Nudge

Application of behavior-change strategies based on principles of behavioral economics, decision-making heuristics, psychological/environmental variables.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Age 18 years or older
• Provision of signed and dated informed consent form
• Willingness to comply with all study procedures and lifestyle considerations and availability for the duration of the study
• Has at least 1 risk factor associated with COVID-19 documented in their electronic medical record
• Followed by (i.e., actively receiving care) from targeted MCW specialties (Internal Medicine, OBGYN, Surgery)
• Access to necessary resources for participating in a technology-based activities (i.e., internet access + mobile phone or computer to complete online survey)
• Maintains a personal address where study materials can be shipped and where participant lives full time

Exclusion Criteria

• Previous COVID-19 diagnosis or positive COVID-19 test result documented in their electronic medical record
• Current participation in another treatment or intervention study associated with COVID-19
• Previous documented Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder diagnosis in their electronic medical record
• Non-English speaker
• Patients hospitalized or incapacitated at onset of potential enrollment
• No access to electronic platform with internet (e.g., smartphone, tablet, computer)

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Medical College of Wisconsin

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Nicholas D. Young

Assistant Professor

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Nicholas D Young, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Medical College of Wisconsin

Locations

Medical College of Wisconsin

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States

Countries

United States

Other Identifiers

PRO00037864

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id