NCT04228562

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to examine (1) how the causal structure of a disease influences people's disease prevention decisions; and (2) how the causal structure of a disease interacts with people's regret anticipation in determining their disease prevention decisions.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

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

Enrollment
256

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Jan 2020

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

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

January 12, 2020

Completed
2 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

January 14, 2020

Completed
1 day until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

January 15, 2020

Completed
3 months until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

April 15, 2020

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

April 15, 2020

Completed
Last Updated

September 1, 2020

Status Verified

August 1, 2020

Enrollment Period

3 months

First QC Date

January 12, 2020

Last Update Submit

August 29, 2020

Conditions

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Decision to remove X

    The decision to remove X (yes vs. no)

    Day 1: When responding to the questionnaire

Other Outcomes (3)

  • Anticipated regret

    Day 1: When responding to the questionnaire

  • Judgment of whether the removal of X is an opportunity to improve earnings

    Day 1: When responding to the questionnaire

  • Sense of control over the final outcome

    Day 1: When responding to the questionnaire

Study Arms (4)

Non-modifiable factor ABSENT; NO anticipated regret induced

NO INTERVENTION

The experiment comprises 10 rounds of decision tasks. Participant begins with 130 points (each worth HK$0.5) in each round. After the 10 rounds, the computer randomly selects 1 round and the points from this round is paid in cash. There is a chance for the participant to develop a disease. Without prevention, the chance of getting the disease is 60%. A cause, X, is identified for the disease. X is a modifiable cause, which means that it can be changed by taking some actions. The participant has to decide whether or not to remove X. Removal of X reduces disease chance; the reduced chance varies between 10% and 50% across the 10 rounds and the exact level is communicated at the beginning of each round. The removal of X costs 30 points. Whether s/he ends up developing the disease or not is determined by a computerized lottery based on these chances. If s/he develops the disease, s/he will lose 100 points.

Non-modifiable factor ABSENT; anticipated regret induced

EXPERIMENTAL

Same description as in the "uncontrollable factor absent, no anticipated regret induced" arm, except that the participants are induced to think to what extent they will feel regretful: a) if s/he decides not to remove X but ends up developing the disease and b) if s/he decides to remove X but still gets the disease.

Other: induction of anticipated regret

Non-modifiable factor PRESENT; NO anticipated regret induced

EXPERIMENTAL

The experiment comprises 10 rounds of decision tasks. Participant begins with 130 points (each worth HK$0.5) in each round. After the 10 rounds, the computer randomly selects 1 round and the points from this round is paid in cash. There is a chance for the participant to develop a disease. Without prevention, the chance of getting the disease is 60%. Two causes, X and Y, are identified for the disease. X is a modifiable cause, which means that it can be changed by taking some actions. The participant has to decide whether or not to remove X. Removal of X reduces disease chance; the reduced chance varies between 10% and 50% across the 10 rounds and the exact level is communicated at the beginning of each round. The removal of X costs 30 points. Whether s/he ends up developing the disease or not is determined by a computerized lottery based on these chances. If s/he develops the disease, s/he will lose 100 points.

Other: non-modifiable factor

Non-modifiable factor PRESENT; anticipated regret induced

EXPERIMENTAL

Same as the "uncontrollable factor present, no anticipated regret induced" arm, except that the participants are induced to think to what extent they will feel regretful: a) if s/he decides not to remove X but ends up developing the disease and b) if s/he decides to remove X but still gets the disease.

Other: non-modifiable factorOther: induction of anticipated regret

Interventions

the presence of an uncontrollable / unremovable risk factor for a disease

Non-modifiable factor PRESENT; NO anticipated regret inducedNon-modifiable factor PRESENT; anticipated regret induced

higher level of elaboration on potential regret

Non-modifiable factor ABSENT; anticipated regret inducedNon-modifiable factor PRESENT; anticipated regret induced

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years+
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • students currently studying at the Chinese University of Hong Kong

You may not qualify if:

  • None

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Chinese University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Location

Related Publications (1)

  • Binder S, Nuscheler R. Risk-taking in vaccination, surgery, and gambling environments: Evidence from a framed laboratory experiment. Health Econ. 2017 Dec;26 Suppl 3:76-96. doi: 10.1002/hec.3620.

    PMID: 29285871BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Risk Reduction Behavior

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Study Officials

  • Wing Man Yeung, PhD

    Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
DOUBLE
Who Masked
PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR
Masking Details
Each participant will only receive the instruction pertaining to the arm to which he/she is assigned. The Research Assistant who conducts the study does not know about the hypothesis.
Purpose
OTHER
Intervention Model
FACTORIAL
Model Details: Factorial Assignment The study has a 2 (Factor: one modifiable cause vs. one modifiable + one non-modifiable causes) ✕ 2 (Anticipated regret induction: yes vs. no) between-subject design. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of the 4 between-subject conditions. There is also a within-subject variable. Each subject will respond to 10 rounds of decision task with 5 different levels of overall disease risk reduction brought by the removal of X. The 5 levels of risk reduction are: (i) Removal of X reduces disease risk from 60% to 50% ; (ii) 60% to 40%; (iii) 60% to 30%; (iv) 60% to 20%; (v) 60% to 10%.
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Associate Professor of Marketing

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

January 12, 2020

First Posted

January 14, 2020

Study Start

January 15, 2020

Primary Completion

April 15, 2020

Study Completion

April 15, 2020

Last Updated

September 1, 2020

Record last verified: 2020-08

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will share

Data will be uploaded to file sharing sites for sharing. Any identifying information will be removed before data sharing.

Shared Documents
STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ANALYTIC CODE
Time Frame
Data will become available after manuscript is published, for 5 years starting from publication date.
Access Criteria
Data will only be made available for research purpose.

Locations