NCT04135469

Brief Summary

The goal of this study to understand what percentage of families in the pediatric clinic at Boston Medical Center (BMC) currently file taxes and use free tax preparation and would accept and use referral to a free tax preparation service. The investigators specifically want to understand which of two methods of connecting to free tax preparation (referral versus navigated connection) is more effective. Also studied will be the feasibility of using surveys on financial wellness and other health indicators to track participants' health. These pilot findings will be used to design a larger study that aims to assess whether integrating free tax preparation services into a pediatric clinic can increase tax filing rates and, as a result, the amount of money families receive in tax refunds. Additionally, the investigators hope to understand whether receiving this service impacts parental stress as well as how parents and babies are using the healthcare system.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
69

participants targeted

Target at P50-P75 for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Nov 2019

Shorter than P25 for not_applicable

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

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Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

October 17, 2019

Completed
5 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

October 22, 2019

Completed
22 days until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

November 13, 2019

Completed
10 months until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

September 4, 2020

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

September 4, 2020

Completed
Last Updated

October 5, 2020

Status Verified

September 1, 2020

Enrollment Period

10 months

First QC Date

October 17, 2019

Last Update Submit

September 30, 2020

Conditions

Financial StressMaternal Distress

Keywords

Tax preparation serviceTax filingEarned Income Tax Credit (EITC)Child tax credit

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

  • Financial well being

    The consumer financial protection bureau (cfpb) financial -well-being questionnaire will be used to assess financial stability. It has 5 items with scores from from 0 to 4 where 4 is the response associated with the best financial well being. Total scores can range from 0 to 16. They are interpreted with a table stratifying the participants age as 19-61 and 62+ and higher scores are more favorable.

    12 months

  • Tax refund

    A copy of the IRS tax return form will be reviewed to extract the total tax refund amount

    12 months

  • Tax credits

    A copy of the IRS tax return form will be reviewed to extract the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit amounts

    12 months

Secondary Outcomes (5)

  • Maternal mental health

    12 months

  • Maternal well being

    12 months

  • Parenting skills

    12 months

  • Maternal healthcare utilization

    12 months

  • Child healthcare utilization

    12 months

Study Arms (2)

Referral for tax preparation

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants will be given contact information on financial services, including all the free tax preparation services in the city, including Boston Medical Center.

Other: Referral for tax preparation services

BMC tax preparation

EXPERIMENTAL

A navigator will help the participants with using free tax preparation services located at Boston Medical Center or a service located elsewhere in the city.

Other: Referral for tax preparation servicesOther: Navigator assisted tax preparation services at BMC

Interventions

Referral for tax preparation servicesOTHER

Printed materials will be provided with contact information for tax preparation services at BMC and other sites in the city.

BMC tax preparationReferral for tax preparation
Navigator assisted tax preparation services at BMCOTHER

A study navigator will assist the participant in accessing the BMC located tax preparation services.

BMC tax preparation

Eligibility Criteria

Age0 Years - 5 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsChild (0-17)

You may qualify if:

  • Guardian of a child 0-5 years
  • English, Spanish, or Haitian-Creole -speaking
  • Child is a Boston Medical Center pediatric primary care patient

You may not qualify if:

  • Guardian not present at time of clinic visit
  • Have no taxable income for the calendar year
  • Not using BMC for pediatric primary care
  • Have already filed their taxes for 2020

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Boston Medical Center

Boston, Massachusetts, 02118, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Financial Stress

Interventions

Referral and Consultation

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Stress, PsychologicalBehavioral SymptomsBehavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Professional PracticeOrganization and AdministrationHealth Services Administration

Study Officials

  • Lucy Marcil, MD MPH

    Boston Medical Center

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
NONE
Purpose
HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

October 17, 2019

First Posted

October 22, 2019

Study Start

November 13, 2019

Primary Completion

September 4, 2020

Study Completion

September 4, 2020

Last Updated

October 5, 2020

Record last verified: 2020-09

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will not share

Locations

US(1)