The Healthy Nudge

January 2025

Welcome to The Healthy Nudge. Each month, we'll get you up to speed on the latest developments in policy-relevant health behavioral economics research at CHIBE. See our 5 top stories below.

1) How to use multi-level nudges and take ideas to scale

In this Q&A, you’ll learn from Dr. Shivan Mehta:

• How a health system is using nudges on both patients and clinicians to increase flu vaccinations and mammograms
• How a small pilot study to increase colonoscopies was scaled to 20,000 patients and led to a 6% increase in show rates, which translates to nearly 1,800 more colonoscopies done per year
• Advice on how to tackle a health challenge from multiple levels

2) How to build a good research partnership

How do great research collaborations happen? In this Q&A, CHIBE affiliate Dr. Katy Milkman shares how her team partnered with CVS Pharmacy and what they've learned from their research together.

She also shares advice on how to partner with a major organization: "It’s important to have buy-in from someone high up in your partner organization who is committed to seeing the project through and has the authority to ensure its success. Ideally your goals would also be well-aligned with the organization’s goals for the project. In other words, they should find it valuable to partner on the research. And you should make sure to sign a legal agreement with the organizational partner before investing significant time in your project; the legal agreement should guarantee you the right to publish your results."

CHIBE is highlighting the ways our affiliates have created successful research partnerships. This is the third in a series of articles illustrating effective collaborations. Are you a CHIBE investigator looking for a partner for your research? Contact chibe@pennmedicine.upenn.edu.

3) How the FDA’s new nutrition labels could prod the food industry to get healthier

A STAT article featuring CHIBE affiliate Dr. Christina Roberto

A new government proposal to display nutritional labels on the front of food packaging is aimed at helping Americans make more informed choices about what they eat. An eventual side effect, research and expert commentary suggests, could be nudging the food industry to make healthier food, too.

The proposed label is a black-and-white box that shows the percentage of the daily recommended amount of sodium, added sugar, and saturated fat included in a serving, and rates whether a serving has a “low,” “medium,” or “high” level of each nutrient.

The proposed label could be confusing to consumers, said Dr. Christina Roberto. “It’s like pulling up to a traffic light that’s red and green at the same time and you don’t know what to do. It’s low in sugar but it’s high in sodium — is it good, is it bad?” Read more here.

4) At-home disposal kits increase self-disposal rates of opioids

A HealthDay article featuring CHIBE affiliate Dr. Anish Agarwal

Providing surgery patients with an opioid disposal kit at the time of discharge increases their self-disposal rates, according to a recent study. The researchers found that disposal kits were associated with a 10.6 percentage point increase in disposal rates (20.8% to 28.4%) and a 10.5 percentage point increase in the fraction of opioids disposed (16.1% to 20.2%). The disposal kits were also found to be cost-effective, as each kit was valued at under $2.00.

“Any time we can cut down the number of opioids that could potentially circulate or be misused, it’s a positive step,” said Dr. Anish Agarwal. “If you can make the right decision the easy one, you’re much more likely to get a positive outcome, and I think that’s what we saw here.” Read more here.

5) Handcrafting joy to support both the patient and clinician experience

A Journal of Patient Experiences paper by Drs. Noor Fathima Shaik, David Do, and Roy Rosin, MBA (CHIBE affiliate)

The authors describe an initiative focused on tailoring joyful surprises, like unexpected gifts, to help support both patients and clinicians, aiming to improve patient experience and satisfaction while reducing provider burnout. This patient-centered initiative enables health care providers to provide unique and joyful surprises for their patients in a manner that is readily scalable, cost-effective, accessible, and deeply impactful. Read more here.