Persuasion in Medicine: Experimental Evidence on Sender and Signal Effects
Public ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT04160975. Field values are reproduced from the official study page; the official ClinicalTrials.gov record remains the source of truth for eligibility, enrollment, and contact information.
Data is sourced from official ClinicalTrials.gov public API records. Always review the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for the latest information.
Brief summary
Reproduced verbatim from the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Not medical advice.
The aim of the study is to identify what sender/signal combinations are most persuasive in encouraging low socioeconomic males living in the U.S. to take-up seasonal flu vaccination. The investigators plan to recruit male subjects and randomly assign them to four persuasion treatments: three of which vary dimensions of the sender of a medical recommendation (racial concordance and authority treatments) and one which varies the signal (standard vs. empathetic). Specifically, the investigators will show subjects videos of either Black or white actors/actresses providing scripted information on the flu vaccination. The investigators will randomize the race of the sender and if the subject is Black, also randomize the authority of the sender, with the actor portraying either a doctor or a layperson. In addition, the investigators will vary the script used in the experiment between one that acknowledges past injustices (indicated as an empathetic script hereafter) and one that does not (indicated as a standard script hereafter). The investigators will provide subjects a free flu shot coupon and elicit the price at which subjects would be willing to give up this coupon for a cash reward. Lastly, in light of the relevance of vaccination take-up in combating COVID-19 pandemic, the investigators will assess demand for information about a COVID-19 vaccine, with subjects invited to receive results of a safety and efficacy review from a trusted or standard source. The design requires the collection of baseline and endline surveys combined with administrative data from pharmacies about coupon redemption. The primary outcomes of interest are posterior beliefs about seasonal flu vaccination, demand and willingness-to-pay (WTP) for a free flu shot coupon, redemption of the coupon, and demand for information about a COVID-19 vaccine.
Study identification
- NCT ID
- NCT04160975
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Not applicable
- Enrollment
- 3,245 participants
Conditions and interventions
Conditions
Interventions
Behavioral
Eligibility (public fields only)
- Age range
- 18 Years to 51 Years
- Sex
- Male
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepts healthy volunteers
This page does not interpret eligibility. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria are on the official ClinicalTrials.gov record.
Study timeline
- Start date
- Dec 19, 2019
- Primary completion
- Feb 18, 2021
- Completion
- Feb 18, 2021
- Last update posted
- Jun 28, 2021
2019 – 2021
United States locations
- U.S. sites
- 1
- U.S. states
- 1
- U.S. cities
- 1
| Facility | City | State | ZIP | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvard University | Cambridge | Massachusetts | 02138 | — |
Site contact phone numbers, emails, and investigator names are intentionally not displayed here. Open the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for site contact information.
About this trial record page
- What this page shows
- Public field values for ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT04160975, including study identification, conditions, interventions, eligibility (age, sex, healthy volunteer), timeline, and U.S. site list.
- What this page does not do
- No medical advice, eligibility judgments, treatment recommendations, study quality scoring, or AI-generated medical summaries. No site contact phone numbers, emails, or investigator names.
- Where the data comes from
- Sourced from the official ClinicalTrials.gov public API. The official record is the source of truth.
- Last refresh
- Last update posted Jun 28, 2021 · Synced Sep 1, 2026
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Open the official record
The complete protocol, eligibility criteria, and contact information for NCT04160975 live on ClinicalTrials.gov.