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OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT04728594

Emails Promoting COVID-19 Vaccination Among Healthcare Workers

In this evaluation, two versions of emails will be sent to Geisinger employees who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19. A delayed-contact control group will be emailed after a delay of at least two days. The researchers hypothesize that either of the emails - which use content informed by behavioral nudge theory - will lead to more COVID-19 vaccinations than the delayed-contact control group.

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Key information

Conditions

Vaccination Refusal Behavior Communication Health Behavior Treatment Adherence and Compliance Treatment Refusal

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Geisinger

Danville, Pennsylvania, 17822, United States

About this study

The researchers aim to evaluate the effectiveness of email reminders in promoting COVID-19 vaccinations among Geisinger employees. The project will compare two emails, which will vary in the subject line and email content. Both emails will test different approaches that draw from principles in behavioral science: social proof, reframing, and scarcity. Employees receiving these emails will be compared with employees in a delayed-contact group, who will not receive emails. Employees in the control group will later receive one of the emails.The responses to the emails will help determine the communications later sent to the control group.

All emails will ask recipients if they want to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. If they click on a hyperlink indicating yes, they will be forwarded to an online registration and scheduling homepage. If they click on a hyperlink indicating no, they will be forwarded to an online questionnaire surveying people about their main reason for declining the vaccine at this time. The questionnaire will automatically present information intended to assuage the specific concern that people endorse, followed by a hyperlink to the scheduling site.

The data will be analyzed with logistic regression models with the control group as the reference group, to compare the two email conditions versus the control group. This set of analyses will only be conducted for scheduling a vaccination appointment as opposed to email engagement outcomes (e.g., number of emails opened), which will not be applicable for the control group. A second set of logistic regression models predicting scheduling a vaccination appointment and email engagement will also be run, comparing the two email conditions against each other. The data will be examined two days later (to help decide which email to send to the delayed-control group) and four days later (when the policy for employee vaccination will change, making the content of the email irrelevant).

Update: The researchers looked at 3 days of data - as the emails to the delayed contact group were only sent at that time - and 4 days of data when the policy for employee vaccinations changed.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Employees at Geisinger Health System who have not gotten a COVID-19 vaccination

Exclusion criteria

  • None

Treatment and study plan

Social Proof

Behavioral

Email

Reframing

Behavioral

Email

Scarcity Message

Behavioral

Email

Primary outcomes

  1. Number of Employees Who Scheduled Vaccination Appointments After 3 Days

    Time frame: 3 days

    Binary variable of a scheduled vaccination appointment 3 days after the emails were sent

Secondary outcomes

  1. Number of Employees Who Opened Emails After 3 Days

    Time frame: 3 days

    Binary variable indicating whether the employee opened the email 3 days after the emails were sent

  2. Number of Employees Who Clicked Scheduling Links After 3 Days

    Time frame: 3 days

    Binary variable indicating whether the employee clicked the link to schedule a vaccination appointment 3 days after the emails were sent

Other outcomes

  1. Number of Employees Who Scheduled Vaccination Appointments Until Policy Change (4 Days)

    Time frame: 4 days

    Binary variable of a scheduled vaccination appointment up to the end of January 19, when new distribution policies were enacted.

  2. Number of Employees Who Opened Emails Until Policy Change (4 Days)

    Time frame: 4 days

    Binary variable indicating whether the employee opened the email up to the end of January 19, when new distribution policies were enacted.

  3. Number of Employees Who Clicked the Scheduling Link Until Policy Change (4 Days)

    Time frame: 4 days

    Binary variable indicating whether the employee clicked the link to schedule a vaccination appointment up to the end of January 19, when new distribution policies were enacted.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Geisinger Clinic

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Evaluation of an Email Intervention Promoting COVID-19 Vaccination Among Healthcare Workers

Important dates

Study start
2021
Primary completion
2021
Study completion
2021
First posted
Jan 28, 2021
Registry last updated
Jul 26, 2021

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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