Fresh Start Experiment
Study Details
Study Description
Brief Summary
The investigators are proposing an experiment to help Humana investigate when to launch programs or send messages that are designed to improve customers' engagement. The investigators' past research has shown that certain life events and calendar events (e.g., a job change, a birthday, a holiday, Monday) feel like a "fresh start" to people and have the potential to motivate them to begin pursuing their health goals (e.g., exercising, starting a diet, quitting smoking).
| Condition or Disease | Intervention/Treatment | Phase |
|---|---|---|
|
N/A |
Detailed Description
The investigators are proposing an experiment to help Humana investigate when to launch programs or send messages that are designed to improve customers' engagement. The investigators' past research has shown that certain life events and calendar events (e.g., a job change, a birthday, a holiday, Monday) feel like a "fresh start" to people and have the potential to motivate them to begin pursuing their health goals (e.g., exercising, starting a diet, quitting smoking). In this experiment, the investigators will test (a) whether Humana can increase the effectiveness of its messages by sending them to customers around fresh starts moments and (b) whether highlighting a recent fresh start event in Humana's messages can further increase customer engagement.
Study Design
Arms and Interventions
| Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
|---|---|
| Experimental: Reminder control Customers receive a mailing on a random day, which does not coincide with any of the predictable fresh start events. |
Behavioral: Reminder
Customer gets mailing that reminds them to take their medication.
|
| Experimental: Birthday framed Customers receive a mailing on the most recent Wednesday before the customers' birthday, and the mailing frames the customers' birthday by emphasizing a fresh start associated with the customers' birthday. |
Behavioral: Fresh start
Customers receive a mailing around a fresh start event: New Year's or birthday
Behavioral: Fresh start framing
The fresh start event will be highlighted in the mailings.
|
| Experimental: New Year's framed Customers receive a mailing on 1/21/15, and the mailing frames the customers' birthday by emphasizing a fresh start associated with the customers' birthday. |
Behavioral: Fresh start
Customers receive a mailing around a fresh start event: New Year's or birthday
Behavioral: Fresh start framing
The fresh start event will be highlighted in the mailings.
|
| Experimental: Birthday un-framed Customers receive a mailing on the most recent Wednesday before the customers' birthday, but the mailing does not frame the customers' birthday. |
Behavioral: Fresh start
Customers receive a mailing around a fresh start event: New Year's or birthday
|
| Experimental: New Year's un-framed Customers receive a mailing on 1/21/15, but the mailing does not frame New Year's. |
Behavioral: Fresh start
Customers receive a mailing around a fresh start event: New Year's or birthday
|
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcome Measures
- Medication refills [6 months]
frequency of refilling medication
Secondary Outcome Measures
- Hemoglobin A1C [6 months]
- LDL cholesterol [6 months]
Eligibility Criteria
Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- customers of our insurance company partner
Exclusion Criteria:
- none
Contacts and Locations
Locations
| Site | City | State | Country | Postal Code | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | United States | 19104 |
Sponsors and Collaborators
- University of Pennsylvania
Investigators
- Principal Investigator: Katherine Milkman, Ph.D, University of Pennsylvania
Study Documents (Full-Text)
None provided.More Information
Publications
None provided.- 820768