Impact of Nudges on Downloads of COVID-19 Exposure Notification Smartphone Apps: A Randomized Trial
Public ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT05080179. 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.
Official title
The Interactive Effect of Social Norm and Self (vs. Others) Benefit Nudges on Downloads of COVID-19 Exposure Notification Smartphone Apps: A Randomized Trial
Brief summary
Reproduced verbatim from the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Not medical advice.
Eligible participants who were active beneficiaries of a large insurer living in Pennsylvania were sent an email encouraging them to download the contact tracing app in Pennsylvania, COVID Alert PA. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of four conditions in a 2 (Self-benefit vs. Other-Benefit) x 2 (Social Norms Present vs. Social Norms absent) design. All participants received an email that said : "COVID Alert PA is the official Exposure Notification App from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Join Penn Medicine in the fight against COVID-19 and download COVID Alert PA today!" ---Investigators manipulated the content here--- "The app uses Bluetooth to sense when one person is in close contact with another person with the app. If someone tests positive for COVID-19, and they decide to upload the information to the health department, people who have the app and who have been in contact with them will be alerted. If you are interested in downloading the app, please click COVID Alert PA. We appreciate you joining our efforts. Together we can beat COVID-19!" In the Other-Benefit condition, it said: "It can help you reduce your risk of unknowingly spreading the virus to your friends, family, and larger community." In the Self-Benefit condition, it said: "It can help you determine where and when to get testing, and how to get care if you need it." In the Social Norms Present condition, it said: "Over 650,000 Pennsylvanians have already downloaded the app!" In the Social Norms Absent condition, it said the statement about social norms above. Participants who do not open the initial email received a follow-up email.
Study identification
- NCT ID
- NCT05080179
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Not applicable
- Enrollment
- 16,903 participants
Conditions and interventions
Conditions
Interventions
- Self-Benefit/Social Norm Behavioral
- Self-Benefit/No Social Norm Behavioral
- Other Benefit/Social Norm Behavioral
- Other Benefit/No Social Norm Behavioral
Behavioral
Eligibility (public fields only)
- Age range
- Not listed
- Sex
- All
- 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 10, 2020
- Primary completion
- Jan 27, 2021
- Completion
- Jan 27, 2021
- Last update posted
- Aug 27, 2023
2020 – 2021
United States locations
- U.S. sites
- 1
- U.S. states
- 1
- U.S. cities
- 1
| Facility | City | State | ZIP | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independence Blue Cross (IBX) | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | 19146 | — |
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 NCT05080179, 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 Aug 27, 2023 · Synced Sep 7, 2026
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Open the official record
The complete protocol, eligibility criteria, and contact information for NCT05080179 live on ClinicalTrials.gov.