FEBRUARY 2019
The Healthy Nudge
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. Want more frequent updates? Follow us on Twitter @PennCHIBE and visit our website .
Improving Patient Engagement with Cross-Industry Insights
A recent NEJM Catalyst Insights Council Survey asked members their perspectives on the ways in which health care leaders can learn from other consumer-facing industries to improve patient engagement. CHIBE Director Kevin Volpp, MD, PhD co-authored an analysis of the survey results, which found that hospitality and technology were viewed as the most relevant industries for gathering insights. Respondents believe that these industries have the potential to teach health care leaders valuable lessons on improving customer service and customization.
New Pilot Projects Explore Behavioral Phenotyping, Gamification & Connected Health
CHIBE has announced pilot funding for three new projects that will apply concepts from behavorial phenotyping, gamification and connected health to diverse public health challenges. In partnership with the Institute for Translational Medicine & Therapeutics, Clinical & Translational Science Awards (CTSA) were granted to study interventions among diabetics, patients with Parkinson's Disease, and high-risk postpartum women using the Way to Health platform.
Bundled Payments: Market Trends & Markers of Success
In collaboration with the American Hospital Association, CHIBE Associate Director Amol Navathe, MD, PhD hosted a series of webinars on bundled payments and episodic care programs this fall and winter. Key takeaways from the webinars can be found in a new AHA brief, titled " Bundled Payments: Market Trends and Markers of Success." The brief addresses common questions around impact on cost and quality, as well as the evidence so far on where savings have been located.
Blog Spotlight
Strengthening Medicaid Waiver Evaluations with Randomization
A recent blog post from LDI Health Policy$ense summarizes a NEJM Perspective piece on the importance of rigorous evaluations of public policy to inform program design. The authors, CHIBE leadership and affiliated faculty, are principal investigators of the independent academic team evaluating Kentucky’s 1115 Medicaid waiver.
  Upcoming
Events
Work-in-Progress Seminar:
with Tadeja Gra č ner, PhD, MSc
Associate Economist, RAND Corporation

02/28/19 @ Noon
253 Biomedical Research Building
In The News
Bigger Gifts Aren't Always Better

Addiction to a Language Learning App Can Be Good for You

How to Get Your New Year's Resolutions Back on Track

The Science of Fitness and How to Make it a Habit

24 Hour Fitness Moves to Transform the Culture of Fitness

Doctor's Career Path Offers Economic Insight on Patient Care

Hospitals Could Play Bigger Role in Preventing Gun Violence, Study Says

We're Wired for Negativity- Here's How to Keep Small Setbacks from Ruining Your Day

In-Hospital Mobility

You Don't Need Motivation to Lose Weight, You Need Discipline

Kit Delgado Appointed to NASEM Committee on Opioid Prescribing
 CHIBE Profile
Sara Bleich, PhD is a Professor of Public Health Policy at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health in the Department of Health Policy and Management.
Dr. Bleich, who served as a keynote speaker at CHIBE's recent Behavioral Science & Health Symposium, conducts research on policies aimed at preventing obesity.
What are some of the core messages that you hope attendees at our symposium took away from your keynote presentation?

Our unhealthy food environment combined with human tendencies to make poor dietary choices underline the need for policies that promote healthy eating. At the federal and local levels, a number of policies have the potential to improve our diet such as federal menu labeling and beverage taxes. Policies which modify the food environment to make the healthy choice easier and do not rely on individual behavior change will likely be more effective and sustainable.
When did you begin incorporating principles of behavioral economics into your work? How does that lens change the way that you think about nutrition policy?

Looking back, I think I have always incorporated principles of behavioral economics into my research. It is hard to think about changing behavior in a meaningful way without a strong understanding of what motivates people’s food choices. Over time, I have become increasingly interested in environmental changes that reduce barriers to healthy eating since our behavior is so resistant to change.

How did your experience as a White House Fellow influence your research interests?

There are so many important research questions in the area of nutrition policy. Serving as a White House Fellow has helped me to better identify which research questions are both important and urgent. It is on this intersection where I try to focus my attention.
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The Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics (CHIBE) at the University of Pennsylvania conducts behavioral economics research aimed at reducing the disease burden from major U.S. public health problems. Originally founded within the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics , our mission is to inform health policy, improve healthcare delivery and increase healthy behavior.
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