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Field
Intervention (Public)
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Before
In Japan, local governments mail to males in the targeted generation “coupons,” by which they receive free antibody testing and vaccination against rubella. In general, the local governments send the coupons and other explanatory materials, including a list of medical institutions that offer the testing and vaccination.
In a collaboration with a local government in Kanagawa, Japan, we add the following two interventions to mailings: (1) enclosing a nudge-based flyer into the envelope; (2) printing a nudge-based message on the envelope.
In October 2022, the local government independently verified the data on the uptake and vaccination up to late August. They found that the spread of COVID-19 infection from late July to early August could slow down antibody testing and vaccination, resulting in much lower uptake and vaccination rates than expected. Because of the extreme difficulty in reaching policy goals related to the uptake and vaccination rates, the local government discussed with our team and decided to implement an additional reminder intervention to evoke the behaviors that had become passive due to the spread of COVID-19.
We will send two reminders at the end of November (scheduled for November 25, 2022) to participants in this experiment who have not yet been tested or are negative and unvaccinated. The first reminder is a postcard with contents extracted from the nudge-based flyer (nudge reminder). The second reminder is a postcard with contents extracted from the leaflet prepared by the local government in the default mailing (standard reminder).
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After
In Japan, local governments mail to males in the targeted generation “coupons,” by which they receive free antibody testing and vaccination against rubella. In general, the local governments send the coupons and other explanatory materials, including a list of medical institutions that offer the testing and vaccination.
In a collaboration with a local government in Kanagawa, Japan, we add the following two interventions to mailings: (1) enclosing a nudge-based flyer into the envelope; (2) printing a nudge-based message on the envelope.
[Added] In October 2022, the local government independently verified the data on the uptake and vaccination up to late August. They found that the spread of COVID-19 infection from late July to early August could slow down antibody testing and vaccination, resulting in much lower uptake and vaccination rates than expected. Because of the extreme difficulty in reaching policy goals related to the uptake and vaccination rates, the local government discussed with our team and decided to implement an additional reminder intervention to evoke the behaviors that had become passive due to the spread of COVID-19.
We will send two reminders at the end of November (scheduled for November 25, 2022) to participants in this experiment who have not yet been tested or are negative and unvaccinated. The first reminder is a postcard with contents extracted from the nudge-based flyer (nudge reminder). The second reminder is a postcard with contents extracted from the leaflet prepared by the local government in the default mailing (standard reminder).
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Field
Experimental Design (Public)
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Before
In addition to a control group, we use the two interventions to create two treatment groups, including Nudge A and Nudge B. Nudge A group will receive only one intervention, “enclosing a nudge-based flyer.” The Nudge B group will receive two interventions, “printing a nudge-based message on envelop” and “enclosing a nudge-based flyer.”
All the three groups will receive the groups and other explanatory materials, including a list of medical institutions that offer the testing and vaccination, while only the control group will receive no nudge-based intervention.
Before starting the experiment, we receive from the local government a list of the target population for MHLW’s FY2022 measures against rubella in order to conduct random assignment. The data contains information on individual ID, age, and region of residence. The target population for MHLW’s FY2022 measures against rubella is not only (a) those who have not received either antibody testing or vaccination, but also (b) those who have received antibody testing and have not been vaccinated despite negative results. The data can identify the type of subjects.
We employ a stratified randomization method by 13 regions. To begin with, we restrict the experiment to those categorized as the type (a). However, those categorized as the type (b) will receive the same mailings as the control group. Our analysis excludes this group, and we call this group the Exclusion group. We then stratify the subjects according to the 13 regions and randomly assign them to the three groups per region. The allocation ratio is equal among regions. See the Analysis plan for details.
We construct the experimental design of the reminder intervention implemented at the end of November so as not to interfere with our original research objectives. We will send the nudge reminder to two treatment groups, Nudge A and Nudge B, and the standard reminder to the control group.
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After
In addition to a control group, we use the two interventions to create two treatment groups, including Nudge A and Nudge B. Nudge A group will receive only one intervention, “enclosing a nudge-based flyer.” The Nudge B group will receive two interventions, “printing a nudge-based message on envelop” and “enclosing a nudge-based flyer.”
All the three groups will receive the groups and other explanatory materials, including a list of medical institutions that offer the testing and vaccination, while only the control group will receive no nudge-based intervention.
Before starting the experiment, we receive from the local government a list of the target population for MHLW’s FY2022 measures against rubella in order to conduct random assignment. The data contains information on individual ID, age, and region of residence. The target population for MHLW’s FY2022 measures against rubella is not only (a) those who have not received either antibody testing or vaccination, but also (b) those who have received antibody testing and have not been vaccinated despite negative results. The data can identify the type of subjects.
We employ a stratified randomization method by 13 regions. To begin with, we restrict the experiment to those categorized as the type (a). However, those categorized as the type (b) will receive the same mailings as the control group. Our analysis excludes this group, and we call this group the Exclusion group. We then stratify the subjects according to the 13 regions and randomly assign them to the three groups per region. The allocation ratio is equal among regions. See the Analysis plan for details.
[Added] We construct the experimental design of the reminder intervention implemented at the end of November so as not to interfere with our original research objectives. We will send the nudge reminder to two treatment groups, Nudge A and Nudge B, and the standard reminder to the control group.
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