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Completed

NCT Number: NCT05117333

Reminders, Cost Sharing, and Healthcare Use

The investigators conduct a large-scale randomized controlled trial in Finland by sending three types of information letters to households to examine whether the reminder letters affect healthcare use. All letters remind of the importance of seeking care to treat potential health problems.

This study has two primary objectives are: to evaluate the effects of an information nudge reminding on the importance of diagnosing and treating health problems and to evaluate the effects of additionally providing information on the fact that primary care nurse visits have become exempt from copayments. Main outcomes include the number of primary care nurse visits and general practitioner (GP) visits in a six-month follow-up.

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Key information

Conditions

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

Age range

55 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare

Helsinki, 00271, Finland

About this study

This study has two main objectives: (i) to evaluate the effect of an information nudge reminding on the importance of diagnosing and treating health problems and (ii) to evaluate the effect of providing information on the fact that primary care nurse visits have become exempt from co-payments.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Residency in one of the 25 target municipalities as of September 15, 2021.
  • Born in 1966 or earlier (aged 55 or more at the end of 2021).
  • Living in a household with a maximum of three individuals aged 55 or above.

Exclusion criteria

  • Individuals living in households (postal address) with more than three individuals aged 55 and above.

Treatment and study plan

Reminder (information letter)

Other

Reminders

Primary outcomes

  1. Number of nurse visits (as recorded in the Finnish National Register of Primary Health Care Visits)

    Time frame: Six months starting from the date the letters are sent

  2. Number of doctor visits (as recorded in the Finnish National Register of Primary Health Care Visits)

    Time frame: Six months starting from the date the letters are sent

Secondary outcomes

  1. Number of referrals to specialized care (as recorded in the Finnish National Register of Primary Health Care Visits)

    Time frame: Six months starting from the date the letters are sent

  2. Number of drug prescriptions for newly initiated therapies (as recorded in the Finnish national register for prescribed medicines)

    Time frame: Six months starting from the date the letters are sent

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare

Other Gov

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2021
Primary completion
2022
Study completion
2022
First posted
Nov 11, 2021
Registry last updated
Aug 26, 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.

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