Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT05509270

Efficacy of Communication Modalities for Promoting Flu Shots

The purpose of this study is to test which modalities (mailed letter, short message service [SMS] text, or patient portal messages) are most effective for encouraging flu shots in high-risk patients.

Completed

Looking for future studies?

Notify Me

Key information

Conditions

Influenza Vaccination Behavior Health Behavior Health Promotion Infections Influenza, Human Orthomyxoviridae Infections RNA Virus Infections Respiratory Tract Diseases Respiratory Tract Infections Risk Reduction Risk Reduction Behavior Virus Diseases

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Geisinger

Danville, Pennsylvania, 17822, United States

About this study

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends a flu vaccination to everyone aged 6+ months, with rare exception; almost anyone can benefit from the vaccine, which can reduce illnesses, missed work, hospitalizations, and death. Flu shots are particularly important for patients at high risk of experiencing severe outcomes.

During the 2020-21 and 2021-22 flu seasons, the study team sent messages to Geisinger patients in the top 10% of risk for flu and complications according to an artificial intelligence algorithm. Messages that told patients they were at high risk significantly increased their likelihood of getting vaccinated.

The present study will extend previous work by testing which modality or modalities are most effective at boosting flu shot rates in patients at high risk. In previous campaigns, patients received messages via all communication modalities patients were eligible for (mailed letter, SMS text, and/or patient portal message). In this study, patients will be randomized to receive high-risk messages in one or more modalities.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Included on a list of active Geisinger patients (all patients on this list attended at least one primary care appointment at Geisinger between 10/1/2008 and 4/13/2022, and either had a Geisinger primary care provider assigned as of April 2022, or were in the Electronic Health Record [EHR] since at least September 2021 and had at least one encounter in 2020-2022)
  • Aged 18 or older
  • In the top 10% of risk for flu and flu complications, according to Medial's flu complications machine learning algorithm (which operates on coded EHR data)
  • Has a Geisinger PCP assigned as of August 2022
  • Has had an encounter in the last 2 years as of August 2022

Exclusion criteria

  • Cannot be contacted via any of the communication modalities (e.g., letter, patient portal, SMS) being used in the study, either due to insufficient/missing contact information in the EHR or because they opted out of all modalities

Treatment and study plan

Letter

Behavioral

Mailed letter about flu vaccination

Patient portal

Behavioral

Patient portal message about flu vaccination

SMS

Behavioral

SMS about flu vaccination

Primary outcomes

  1. Flu vaccination

    Time frame: 4 weeks after the first messages are sent in the study

    Flu vaccination within 4 weeks of the first message send date

Other outcomes

  1. High confidence flu diagnosis

    Time frame: Up to 8 months

    Patient received a flu diagnosis via a positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR)/antigen/molecular test (yes/no) during the 2022-23 flu season (from the first message send date through April 30, 2023).

  2. "Likely flu" diagnosis

    Time frame: Up to 8 months

    Received a "high confidence flu" diagnosis (with positive PCR/antigen/molecular test) and/or "likely flu" diagnosis (as assessed via International Classification of Disease [ICD] codes or Tamiflu administration or positive PCR/antigen/molecular test) (yes/no) during the 2022-23 flu season (from the first message send date through April 30, 2023).

    Note that "likely flu" is a superset of the "high confidence flu" diagnoses.

  3. Flu complications

    Time frame: Up to 11 months

    Diagnosed with flu-related complications (yes/no) from the first message send date through July 31, 2023.

  4. ER visits

    Time frame: Up to 11 months

    Number of ER visits from the first message send date through July 31, 2023.

  5. Hospitalizations

    Time frame: Up to 11 months

    Number of hospitalizations from the first message send date through July 31, 2023.

  6. COVID-19 vaccination rates

    Time frame: Up to 8 months

    Received at least one COVID-19 vaccination (yes/no) during the 2022-23 flu season (from the first message send date through April 30, 2023).

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Geisinger Clinic

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Assessing the Relative Efficacy of Communication Modalities for Messages Promoting Flu Shots

Important dates

Study start
2022
Primary completion
2022
Study completion
2022
First posted
Aug 22, 2022
Registry last updated
Oct 12, 2022

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.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.