Behavioral Economic Incentives and Cancer Health Risk Assessment

Sponsor

University of Pennsylvania (Other)

Overall Status

Completed

CT.gov ID

NCT03068052

Collaborator

National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS) (NIH)

2,000

Enrollment

Location

Arms

Actual Duration (Months)

330.8

Patients Per Site Per Month

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

This is an RCT among UPHS employees between ages 50-64 comparing no incentive and a loss-framed incentive for completing cancer health risk assessment. Those eligible will receive the phone number for direct colonoscopy scheduling, with the incentive arm receiving an additional unconditional incentive. The primary outcome is completion of screening colonoscopy. Secondary outcomes include scheduling of colonoscopy and completion of risk assessment.

Condition or Disease	Intervention/Treatment	Phase
Cancer of the Colon	Behavioral: No incentive Behavioral: Incentive	N/A

Detailed Description

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Despite effective screening and treatment strategies, screening rates remain at 59-65%. UPHS employees have similarly limited rates of CRC screening despite having awareness, access, and insurance coverage. There is a need to identify those who are not up-to-date on screening and eligible for outreach in this population. Financial incentives informed by behavioral economic principles could be used to encourage self-report about screening status and completion of CRC screening. This research utilizes a digital health platform, Way to Health, to evaluate the feasibility of a cancer health risk assessment. This is a single-center RCT among UPHS employees between ages 50-64 that will randomize eligible participants into one of two study arms: (1) no incentive to complete cancer health risk assessment (no incentive) or (2) loss-framed incentive to complete cancer health risk assessment (incentive). Those that are eligible for screening will receive a direct access phone number to schedule colonoscopy, with an additional unconditional incentive for those in incentive arm. The primary outcome is completion of screening colonoscopy, with secondary outcomes of colonoscopy scheduling and completion of risk assessment.

Study Design

Study Type:

Interventional

Actual Enrollment :

2000 participants

Allocation:

Randomized

Intervention Model:

Parallel Assignment

Masking:

Single (Investigator)

Primary Purpose:

Screening

Official Title:

Behavioral Economic Incentives and Cancer Health Risk Assessment

Actual Study Start Date :

May 8, 2017

Actual Primary Completion Date :

Aug 8, 2017

Actual Study Completion Date :

Nov 8, 2017

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/Treatment
Active Comparator: No incentive Colon cancer risk assessment and direct access colonoscopy scheduling for those that are eligible.	Behavioral: No incentive Each participant will receive an email describing the importance of colorectal cancer screening and that they have been selected to receive a risk assessment. They will directed to an online platform where they will be asked about age, family history, and prior screening history. Those who are eligible for screening will be offered the VIP access phone number to schedule an appointment.
Experimental: Incentive Loss-framed incentive to participate in risk assessment and additional unconditional pro-social incentive to complete colorectal cancer screening.	Behavioral: Incentive Each participant will receive an email describing the importance of colorectal cancer screening and that they have been selected to receive a risk assessment, for which they will received a loss-framed incentive. They will directed to an online platform where they will be asked about age, family history, and prior screening history. Those who are eligible for screening will be offered the VIP access phone number to schedule an appointment and will receive an additional unconditional pro-social incentive.

Arm

Intervention/Treatment

Active Comparator: No incentive

Colon cancer risk assessment and direct access colonoscopy scheduling for those that are eligible.

Behavioral: No incentive

Each participant will receive an email describing the importance of colorectal cancer screening and that they have been selected to receive a risk assessment. They will directed to an online platform where they will be asked about age, family history, and prior screening history. Those who are eligible for screening will be offered the VIP access phone number to schedule an appointment.

Experimental: Incentive

Loss-framed incentive to participate in risk assessment and additional unconditional pro-social incentive to complete colorectal cancer screening.

Behavioral: Incentive

Each participant will receive an email describing the importance of colorectal cancer screening and that they have been selected to receive a risk assessment, for which they will received a loss-framed incentive. They will directed to an online platform where they will be asked about age, family history, and prior screening history. Those who are eligible for screening will be offered the VIP access phone number to schedule an appointment and will receive an additional unconditional pro-social incentive.

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

Colonoscopy participation [3 months]
The percent of participants who complete screening colonoscopy

Secondary Outcome Measures

Colonoscopy scheduling [3 months]
The percent of participants who schedule screening colonoscopy
Risk assessment completion [3 months]
The percent of participants who complete risk assessment

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:

50 Years to 64 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study:

All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

Yes

Inclusion criteria:

male and female UPHS employees between the ages 50-64
those who live within 30 miles of the main endoscopy sites

Exclusion criteria:

-minimal exclusion criteria

Contacts and Locations

Locations

	Site	City	State	Country	Postal Code
1	University of Pennsylvania Health System	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	United States	19104

Sponsors and Collaborators

University of Pennsylvania
National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS)

Investigators

Principal Investigator: Shivan Mehta, MD, University of Pennsylvania

Study Documents (Full-Text)

None provided.

More Information

Publications

None provided.

Responsible Party:

Shivan J Mehta, Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:

NCT03068052

Other Study ID Numbers:

826739
UL1TR001878

First Posted:

Mar 1, 2017

Last Update Posted:

Feb 20, 2019

Last Verified:

Feb 1, 2019

Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement:

Plan to Share IPD:

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product:

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product:

Additional relevant MeSH terms:

Colonic Neoplasms

Study Results

No Results Posted as of Feb 20, 2019