Effect of Cash Benefits on Health Care Utilization
1 other identifier
interventional
3,615
1 country
1
Brief Summary
Using data from the Chelsea Eats program, we propose to study a randomized controlled trial in which the City of Chelsea, Massachusetts held a lottery to allocate cash benefits to its residents for ten months during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. We will analyze the impact of the cash benefit on health care utilization and health.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P75+ for not_applicable
Started Jul 2020
Longer than P75 for not_applicable
1 active site
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
Study Start
First participant enrolled
July 27, 2020
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
December 31, 2021
CompletedFirst Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
November 14, 2022
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
November 21, 2022
CompletedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
February 1, 2024
CompletedJuly 12, 2024
July 1, 2024
1.4 years
November 14, 2022
July 11, 2024
Conditions
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
Emergency department use
Count of visits to the emergency department (ED) using the electronic health record
10 months
Secondary Outcomes (10)
Behavioral health-related ED visit
10 months
Substance use disorder-related ED visit
10 months
Potentially avoidable ED visit
10 months
ED visit resulting in admission to the hospital
10 months
Outpatient service use
10 months
- +5 more secondary outcomes
Study Arms (2)
Treatment Group
EXPERIMENTALParticipants in the treatment group received up to $400 per month.
Control Group
ACTIVE COMPARATORParticipants in the control group did not receive monthly cash benefits.
Interventions
Spending from the cards was not restricted to food but could be spent on anything and anywhere Visa was accepted. The debit cards were credited with the first payment on November 18th, 2020 and the second payment on December 18th, 2020. The program continued with monthly credits through August 2021.
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Resident of Chelsea, Massachusetts
- Household income at or below 30% of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Area Median Income
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
- Harvard Medical School (HMS and HSDM)lead
- Brigham and Women's Hospitalcollaborator
- Cambridge Health Alliancecollaborator
Study Sites (1)
Harvard Medical School
Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, United States
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Sumit Agarwal, MD, MPH
Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- TRIPLE
- Who Masked
- CARE PROVIDER, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
- Purpose
- TREATMENT
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
- PI Title
- Instructor
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
November 14, 2022
First Posted
November 21, 2022
Study Start
July 27, 2020
Primary Completion
December 31, 2021
Study Completion
February 1, 2024
Last Updated
July 12, 2024
Record last verified: 2024-07
Data Sharing
- IPD Sharing
- Will not share