Use of Behavioral Economics in Repeat SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Antibody Testing in Disadvantaged Communities

Purpose

Repeat testing for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in disadvantaged communities will help identify active and recovered infections over time, and as more is understood about antibody protection, it may help identify persons who have immunity. Many questions about social barriers and behavioral facilitators remain unanswered. This project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of risk-based messaging and incentives that promote repeated testing for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, as well as to understand social and behavioral determinants of COVID-19 testing and variations within sub-groups of this population.

Condition

  • SARS-CoV-2

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Over 5 Years
Eligible Genders
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No

Inclusion Criteria

  • Adults and children 5 years of age and older

Exclusion Criteria

  • Children under 5 years of age

Study Design

Phase
N/A
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Factorial Assignment
Primary Purpose
Health Services Research
Masking
None (Open Label)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Experimental
Personal Risk + Loss Protection 		Personal Risk + Loss Protection
  • Behavioral: Personal Risk Messaging
    Personal risk framing may engender concern for oneself. Households randomized to personal risk messaging will receive the following message: "Antibody testing will help you understand your risk of getting COVID-19."
  • Behavioral: Loss Protection
    Household members are offered a baseline incentive with a 90% (9 in 10) chance of $60 and receive insurance on winning the baseline incentive for repeat antibody testing.
Experimental
Personal Risk + Lottery Incentive 		Personal Risk + Lottery Incentive
  • Behavioral: Personal Risk Messaging
    Personal risk framing may engender concern for oneself. Households randomized to personal risk messaging will receive the following message: "Antibody testing will help you understand your risk of getting COVID-19."
  • Behavioral: Lottery Incentive
    Household members are offered a baseline incentive with a 90% (9 in 10) chance of $60 and receive a bonus lottery incentive with a 4 small (1 in 25) chance of winning $150 for repeat antibody testing.
Experimental
Family Risk + Loss Protection 		Family Risk + Loss Protection
  • Behavioral: Family Risk Messaging
    Family risk framing may engender concern for loved ones. It may also make it easier to mentally simulate family burdens with COVID-19 such as knowing how several people in the family becoming sick could adversely affect the lives of everyone in the family. Households randomized to family risk messaging will receive the following message: "Antibody testing will help you understand your family's risk of getting COVID-19."
  • Behavioral: Loss Protection
    Household members are offered a baseline incentive with a 90% (9 in 10) chance of $60 and receive insurance on winning the baseline incentive for repeat antibody testing.
Experimental
Family Risk + Lottery Incentive 		Family Risk + Lottery Incentive
  • Behavioral: Family Risk Messaging
    Family risk framing may engender concern for loved ones. It may also make it easier to mentally simulate family burdens with COVID-19 such as knowing how several people in the family becoming sick could adversely affect the lives of everyone in the family. Households randomized to family risk messaging will receive the following message: "Antibody testing will help you understand your family's risk of getting COVID-19."
  • Behavioral: Lottery Incentive
    Household members are offered a baseline incentive with a 90% (9 in 10) chance of $60 and receive a bonus lottery incentive with a 4 small (1 in 25) chance of winning $150 for repeat antibody testing.

Recruiting Locations

More Details

NCT ID
NCT04901624
Status
Completed
Sponsor
University of Southern California

Detailed Description

The rapid spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has greatly impacted underserved populations. This project aims to understand social and behavioral determinants of COVID-19 testing and variations within sub-groups of this population. In partnership with the largest federally qualified health center in the United States, investigators will collect survey data and conduct a randomized experiment on 2,160 individuals (540 families) to evaluate the effectiveness of risk-based messaging and incentives that promote repeated testing for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. In a 2 x 2 (Messaging x Incentive) factorial experiment, participants complete a comprehensive set of social and behavioral surveys to identify determinants of commitment to testing. Participants are then randomized to receive customized messaging promoting repeated testing. Messaging will focus upon either (1a) household risk or (1b) personal risk of COVID-19. Participants are also randomly assigned to an incentive condition that either (2a) insures against losing baseline rewards for initial testing, or (2b) entry into a lottery with a small chance to win $150 if both tests are completed. Both the loss protection and lottery conditions carry the same incentive costs. Previous work in similar populations demonstrates that adherence to planned health behaviors is higher with insurance-based incentives than cash payments of equal value. This experiment compares insurance-based incentives to lottery incentives that have been shown to be effective in multiple contexts. Finally, the investigators evaluate if social and behavioral determinants of health result in heterogeneous treatment effects that can inform customization of incentive offerings in future programs devoted to increasing uptake of testing or vaccinations among underserved populations.