Behavioral Nudges, Information and Incentives for HIV Testing: A Field Experiment in Ecuador

Last registered on June 09, 2017

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Behavioral Nudges, Information and Incentives for HIV Testing: A Field Experiment in Ecuador
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0002263
Initial registration date
June 08, 2017

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
June 09, 2017, 12:35 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
Johns Hopkins University

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
University of South Florida
PI Affiliation
University of South Florida
PI Affiliation
Universidad de San Francisco de Quito
PI Affiliation
Universidad de San Francisco de Quito
PI Affiliation
Johns Hopkins University

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2017-06-12
End date
2018-05-31
Secondary IDs
Abstract
We will conduct a randomized controlled field experiment in the city of Esmeraldas, Ecuador, a province that shares a disproportionate burden of HIV/AIDS, to compare the effects of information, a behavioral nudge (“active choice”), and financial incentives in inducing individuals to get tested. The CDC and other health agencies recommend that all individuals should be routinely tested for HIV/AIDS. In our study, we will test these various strategies both on “at risk” individuals (men who have sex with men, and sex workers) and on a broader population.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Grunauer, Michelle et al. 2017. "Behavioral Nudges, Information and Incentives for HIV Testing: A Field Experiment in Ecuador." AEA RCT Registry. June 09. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.2263-1.0
Former Citation
Grunauer, Michelle et al. 2017. "Behavioral Nudges, Information and Incentives for HIV Testing: A Field Experiment in Ecuador." AEA RCT Registry. June 09. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/2263/history/18461
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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
This proposed study has three specific aims.
Specific Aim 1: To estimate the effect of behavioral nudges, information, and financial incentives in inducing individuals to be tested for HIV. By comparing the number of subjects who agree to be tested in the control group and under our experimental conditions, we will be able to estimate the effect of our proposed treatments on (a) the share of new subjects tested and (b) the share of new subjects tested who have the disease.

Specific Aim 2: To compare the demographic, socioeconomic, cultural, and health characteristics of the individuals induced to get tested by our interventions with those of individuals who are being tested according to current practices in Ecuador. We are particularly interested in determining whether participants under the different strategies are more or less likely to reveal risk factors.
Specific Aim 3: To estimate the cost of detection under the different types of schemes, and compare it to the cost of detection using existing strategies. We can thus determine which type of strategy is most cost-effective, and therefore most useful from a policy perspective.
Intervention Start Date
2017-06-12
Intervention End Date
2018-05-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The main outcomes of interest will be the following:
(a) the share of patients who agree to be tested in each experimental condition
(b) the results of the test
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We propose to conduct a randomized controlled trial in collaboration with the Fundacion Raices, an NGO with strong ties to the local community of Esmeraldas, Ecuador. A total of about 3,000 subjects will be involved in the full-scale study over the course of 2 years. In partnership with the Fundacion Raices, the research team will set up stands at four public places in the city of Esmeraldas: the “malecon” (esplanade on the town’s waterfront), the “Centro Comercial Multiplaza” (Esmeraldas’ large shopping mall), the municipal market (a popular destination for groceries, etc.), and a public park located in the city center. Each stand will feature a sign inviting people to stop and “get their health checked”, and will provide free refreshments (juice boxes and water). A monitor will approach individuals at the malecon/shopping center/municipal market/public park and ask whether they are interested to learn about a health initiative by the Fundacion Raices and a group of public health researchers. If the person is interested, the monitor will begin the three steps of the experiment:
(1) The subject fills out a brief, anonymous survey with demographics, socio- economic characteristics, and whether they have been tested for HIV/AIDS in the past.
(2) The subject receives the script and actions associated with the experimental condition she/he is assigned to according to the randomization.
There are three experimental conditions:
T1 = “Information”.
T2 = “Active Choice”.
T3 = “Monetary incentive”.
Experimental Design Details
FULL DESCRIPTION
We propose to conduct a randomized controlled trial in collaboration with the Fundacion Raices, an NGO with strong ties to the local community of Esmeraldas, Ecuador. A total of about 3,000 subjects will be involved in the full-scale study over the course of 2 years. In partnership with the Fundacion Raices, the research team will set up stands at four public places in the city of Esmeraldas: the “malecon” (esplanade on the town’s waterfront), the “Centro Comercial Multiplaza” (Esmeraldas’ large shopping mall), the municipal market (a popular destination for groceries, etc.), and a public park located in the city center. Each stand will feature a sign inviting people to stop and “get their health checked”, and will provide free refreshments (juice boxes and water). A monitor will approach individuals at the malecon/shopping center/municipal market/public park and ask whether they are interested to learn about a health initiative by the Fundacion Raices and a group of public health researchers. If the person is interested, the monitor will begin the three steps of the experiment:
(1) The subject fills out a brief, anonymous survey with demographics, socio- economic characteristics, and whether they have been tested for HIV/AIDS in the past.
(2) The subject receives the script and actions associated with the experimental condition she/he is assigned to according to the randomization.
There are three experimental conditions:
- T1 = “Information”. Subjects assigned to this condition are read a script informing them of the benefits and importance of routine HIV/AIDS testing for themselves, the benefits for one’s partner and loved ones, and for the broader community; they are also given a flyer including the same information. Then, they are invited to get tested in the next two weeks.
- T2 = “Active Choice”. Subjects in this condition will receive the same information and flyer as in T1; in addition, they are told that they have the opportunity to express their intention to get tested for HIV/AIDS. To this aim, they will be given a sheet of paper and asked to tick one of two boxes. The first box will say “I intend to get tested within the next two weeks”, and the second will say “I will consider getting tested within the next two weeks but I am not ready to commit at this time”. They will also be asked to write their initials at the bottom of the sheet, and will be told to keep it. This is a form of “soft commitment” which has proven effective in other contexts (Bryan et al. 2010).
- T3 = “Monetary incentive”. Subjects in this condition will receive the same information and flyer as in T1; in addition, they will be told that if they will get tested for HIV/AIDS within the next two weeks, they will receive $10 (the US dollar became Ecuador’s official currency in 2001).
(3) The subject receives a card consisting of three detachable parts. Each part includes a numerical ID that uniquely identifies each participant. The first part of the card will remain with the researchers. The participants will be told to give the second part of their card to the medical personnel at the health facility if and when they go there to get tested. The personnel at the lab will retain that portion of the card and note the subject's study ID in the test tube. The third part of the card will remain with the participant. This procedure and the study ID will enable the research team to (a) associate participants to the treatment conditions they were assigned to, the location where they were recruited, the staff member who recruited them; and (b) determine the outcomes (whether they got tested or not, and what the results were), while preserving the anonymity of the participants.
Randomization: The randomization will vary by week (i.e., all participants who present on the same week will be assigned to the same experimental condition) to minimize spillover effects due to communication between participants assigned to different groups, and to avoid confusion among the staff. The implementation schedule will be designed to guarantee balance of treatment conditions across locations and days of the week.
To provide the subjects with privacy when filling the questionnaire, after the initial approach the interaction between the subjects and the research personnel will occur in a booth next to the desk which will obscure the participant from the view of others.
Participants will be read a statement informing them that they are being invited to participate in a study; to protect their privacy, verbal consent will be obtained.
Above, we described our main intervention where participants are drawn from the general population. In addition, we also plan to test our experimental conditions with subjects from high-risk population groups. For high-risk population groups, we will rely on previous experience form the research team members. Specifically, Drs. Teran, Izurieta and Reina-Ortiz have collaborated in a research project where Female Sex Workers (FSWs) and Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) were contacted through the official registry and local MSM association, respectively. A similar approach will be used in this project.
Participants in these high-risk groups will be approached individually by our monitors, after having been randomly assigned (previously through a computer randomization algorithm) to one of our three experimental conditions described above. Participants will be read a statement informing them that they are being invited to participate in a study; to protect their privacy, verbal consent will be obtained. We expect to include about 1,000 subjects from these high-risk populations.
The testing facility where the participants will be invited to go is “Microlab – Laboratiorio Clinico Bacteriologico”, centrally located in Esmeraldas (across the street from the Delfina Torres Public Hospital) and is a private facility staffed by healthcare professionals connected to the testing lab at the Medical School and Hospital of the Universidad de San Francisco de Quito in Quito, Ecuador’s capital, where the actual testing will be performed.
Blood samples will be tested using standardized commercially available HIV testing kits. Participants in the financial incentive condition will receive their reward from the staff at the Microlab in Esmeraldas.
The study participants will not give their names to the lab personnel. They will simply give them the second portion of their card, which indicates their study ID. The lab staff will write the study ID in the test tube’s label. The blood samples will be sent to the testing facility at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito for testing. Trained laboratory personnel at USFQ will be in charge to conduct the HIV screening test following Standard Operating Procedures. After conducting the test, laboratory personnel will record the results in an excel spreadsheet using the individual’s ID number as identifier (i.e., there will be no record of name or other personal identifiable information). Afterwards, the results will be individually printed in a pre-designed “HIV screening Test Results” Form. Individual results will be put in an envelope. Envelopes will be sealed and mailed back to the testing facility in Esmeraldas through a private carrier. After arrival, results will be archived in a locked unit and delivered to participants as they come to claim their results. Participants will receive their results in a timely manner, according to the local health policies. HIV positive individuals will be encouraged to visit the local health district for their enrollment into the national HIV/AIDS program for treatment.
Randomization Method
Randomization done in the office using a random number generator in Excel.
Randomization Unit
Randomization: The randomization will be by week. That is, all participants who present on the same week will be assigned to the same experimental condition. This is done to minimize spillover effects due to possible communication between participants assigned to different experimental conditions, and to avoid confusion among the staff. The implementation schedule will be designed to guarantee balance of treatment conditions across locations and days of the week.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
48 weeks
Sample size: planned number of observations
3,000
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
4 locations
48 weeks in total
12 weeks in each location
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
The Institutional Review Board of USFQ
IRB Approval Date
2016-10-18
IRB Approval Number
2016-138IN
IRB Name
Johns Hopkins University Homewood Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2016-12-12
IRB Approval Number
HIRB00004772

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials