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OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT05622903

Effect of Cash Benefits on Health Care Utilization

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.

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Key information

Conditions

Health Care Utilization Behavior Health Behavior Patient Acceptance of Health Care Treatment Adherence and Compliance

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Harvard Medical School

Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, United States

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Resident of Chelsea, Massachusetts
  • Household income at or below 30% of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Area Median Income

Exclusion criteria

  • See inclusion criteria

Treatment and study plan

Cash Benefit

Other

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.

Other names: Basic Income, Debit Card

No Cash Benefit

Other

No monthly cash benefit.

Primary outcomes

  1. Emergency department use

    Time frame: 10 months

    Count of visits to the emergency department (ED) using the electronic health record

Secondary outcomes

  1. Behavioral health-related ED visit

    Time frame: 10 months

    Visits to the ED with a behavioral health-related diagnosis code

  2. Substance use disorder-related ED visit

    Time frame: 10 months

    Visits to the ED with a substance use disorder-related diagnosis code

  3. Potentially avoidable ED visit

    Time frame: 10 months

    Visits to the ED that are potentially avoidable, categorized as avoidable according to the previously validated New York University algorithm

  4. ED visit resulting in admission to the hospital

    Time frame: 10 months

    Visits to the ED that result in a hospitalization

  5. Outpatient service use

    Time frame: 10 months

    Office visits and visits for other types of outpatient care such as imaging and procedures

  6. COVID vaccination

    Time frame: 10 months

    Binary variable for having received at least one dose of any COVID vaccine by the end of the trial period

  7. Hemoglobin A1c

    Time frame: 10 months

    Continuous measure of diabetes, using the latest available reading or result during trial period

  8. Blood pressure

    Time frame: 10 months

    Continuous measure of blood pressure, using the latest available reading or result during trial period

  9. Weight

    Time frame: 10 months

    Continuous measure of weight, using the latest available reading or result during trial period

  10. Cholesterol

    Time frame: 10 months

    Continuous measure of cholesterol, using the latest available reading or result during trial period

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Harvard Medical School (HMS and HSDM)

Other

Collaborators

  • Brigham and Women's Hospital
  • Cambridge Health Alliance

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2020
Primary completion
2021
Study completion
2024
First posted
Nov 21, 2022
Registry last updated
Jul 12, 2024

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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