Assessing the Impact of myHealth Rewards Enrollment Emails

NCT03965754 | Completed Results

• 1 other identifier: 2019-0404
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 5,697
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The purpose of the study is to evaluate, prospectively, the potential impact of different email message conditions (no email, standard promotional email, social norms, and loss framing) on enrollment in a wellness program (myHealth Rewards) by Geisinger Health Plan (GHP) members.

Conditions

Health Promotion; Wellness Programs

Keywords

Prospect theory

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Enrollment (7 Days)

  Enrollment in the myHealth Rewards program (yes/no) within 7 full days of the beginning of the intervention (i.e., when the emails are first sent).

  7 days, from May 7 through 13, 2019

• Logging in (7 Days)

  Logging into the myHealth Rewards program (yes/no) within 7 full days of the beginning of the intervention.

  7 days, from May 7 through 13, 2019

Study Arms (4)

No email

No email will be sent out to this subset of GHP members during the week that the other emails are sent.

Standard email reminder

The standard email reminder mentions the average premium savings, the speed and ease of starting the process, and the deadline for registering and having health measures on file, plus it provides two button links for registering and finding free health screenings where health measures can be collected and registered at one convenient time and location.

Behavioral: Email reminder

Social norms email

The social norms email notes that a majority (78%) of GHP members' colleagues had enrolled in 2018, it provides a testimonial from a medical director at Geisinger's Commonwealth School of Medicine, stating the ways in which myHealth Rewards helped that doctor personally, and it emphasizes the simplicity and ease of taking the first step toward enrollment.

Behavioral: Social norms; Behavioral: Email reminder

Loss framing

The loss framing email suggests that GHP members are currently "throwing away" a precise dollar amount (over $2,000) by not participating and that they can therefore avoid missing out on substantial gains (i.e., savings) by taking action.

Behavioral: Loss framing; Behavioral: Email reminder

Interventions

Social norms BEHAVIORAL

This intervention introduces recipients to descriptive social norms specifying that a majority of their colleagues have signed up for the program, which sets a normative standard against which recipients are expected to compare themselves and to change their behavior accordingly (i.e., when they realize that their behavior is discrepant from that of relevant others). The personal testimonial from a Geisinger medical director serves as a personal exemplar intended to further enhance the effect of the social norms with an implicit indication that the intended behavior is desirable and feasible.

Also known as: Descriptive norms, Social proof

Social norms email

Loss framing BEHAVIORAL

This intervention frames the status quo as a state from which recipients, via inaction, are slated to forfeit a sizable and precise monetary amount to which they should otherwise feel entitled (via loss aversion and the endowment effect). People tend to be risk-seeking in the domain of losses; therefore, this intervention is hypothesized to increase enrollment in the hope of achieving zero loss by meeting program goals, as opposed to a sure loss via inaction.

Also known as: Endowment effect

Loss framing

Email reminder BEHAVIORAL

This intervention is a standard email reminder that mentions the average premium savings, the speed and ease of starting the process, and the deadline for registering and having health measures on file, plus it provides two button links for registering and finding screenings.

Loss framing; Social norms email; Standard email reminder

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

The population consists of Geisinger Health Plan members who are benefits subscribers.

You may qualify if:

• Geisinger employees who are benefits subscribers

You may not qualify if:

• Those who had already registered for myHealth Rewards in 2019, up through May 6, 2019
• New Geisinger employees hired between December 1, 2018 and May 6, 2019
• Existing Geisinger employees who transitioned from non-subscribers in 2018 to subscribers in 2019

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Geisinger Clinic: lead

Study Sites (1)

Geisinger

Danville, Pennsylvania, 17822, United States

Location

Limitations and Caveats

For this study, we only received data about engagement with the email. Individual patients were not identified and demographic information such as age, sex, or gender were not collected.

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Amir Goren, PhD
• Organization: Geisinger Clinic

agoren@geisinger.edu

5702144395

Study Officials

• Amir Goren, PhD

  Geisinger Clinic

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: Yes

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: CASE CONTROL
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Program Director, Behavioral Insights Team

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 24, 2019
• First Posted: May 29, 2019
• Study Start: May 7, 2019
• Primary Completion: May 14, 2019
• Study Completion: May 14, 2019
• Last Updated: July 26, 2021
• Results First Posted: October 5, 2020

Record last verified: 2021-07

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL
• Time Frame: The data will become available after publication of study results in a scientific journal and will be available as long as the Open Science Framework hosts the data.
• Access Criteria: The data on the Open Science Framework will be open to anyone requesting that information.

Locations

US (1)