Mail Outreach To Increase Vaccination Acceptance Through Engagement

Summary

The aim of this study is to determine whether receiving a core letter signed by the Surgeon General or the Director of the National Vaccine Program that provides only information about influenza, or a core letter signed by the Surgeon General with an added basic or enhanced implementation prompt, will increase rates of influenza vaccination among Medicare beneficiaries when compared to a control group.

Conditions

• Influenza, Human
• Influenza
• Human Flu

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Core letter signed by Surgeon General

The core letter provides information about influenza and the risks associated with it, incorporating a number of behavioral insights. All four letters evaluated in this study will contain the same tops and bodies that are included in the core letter, but the signature and P.S. tag region will differ among the various intervention groups. In this intervention, the core letter is signed by and includes a picture of the Surgeon General. The letter ends after the signature line and the space beneath the signature line is left blank where a P.S. tag region could be appended.

BEHAVIORAL

Core letter signed by the Director of the National Vaccine Program

The core letter is signed by and includes a picture of the Director of the National Vaccine Program. The letter ends after the signature line and the space beneath the signature line is left blank where a P.S. tag region could be appended.

BEHAVIORAL

Core letter signed by Surgeon General + implementation prompt

The core letter is signed by and includes a picture of the Surgeon General. Below the signature line of the core letter, an implementation intention prompt is provided in the P.S. tag region that invites the recipient to write in the day of week, month, day, and time at which he or she plans to get vaccinated.

BEHAVIORAL

Core letter signed by SG + enhanced implementation prompt

The core letter is signed by and includes a picture of the Surgeon General (SG). Below the signature line of the core letter, an enhanced implementation intention prompt is provided in the P.S. tag region that prompts recipients to "decide now" - by checking one of two boxes - indicating they will or will not get vaccinated. The options use language that highlights the losses incumbent in refusing to vaccinate. In addition, an implementation intention prompt is embedded into the checkbox for indicating a choice to be vaccinated.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Department of Health and Human Services

  collaborator FED

• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

  collaborator FED

• United States Social and Behavioral Sciences Team

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Brigham and Women's Hospital

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Niteesh K Choudhry, MD, PhD · Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

66 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2014-09-30

Primary Completion

2015-01-31

Completion

2015-09-30

Countries

• United States

Study Locations