UCLA Health Patient Health Maintenance Text Reminder July 2023

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Diabetes; Cancer; Health Maintenance

Treatments: Behavioral: Persuasion via anecdote; Behavioral: Persuasion via research; Behavioral: Reminder of preventive care measures; Behavioral: Persuasion via anecdote without link

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05979987

MAPreminder3

Details and patient eligibility

About

This is a prospective randomized clinical trial evaluating how behaviorally-informed outreach text message reminders impact patient engagement with primary care. This prospective randomized control trial is being implemented in conjunction with UCLA Health's larger quality improvement initiative (the My Action Plan Quality Improvement Initiative) in order to improve primary care preventive measure completion rates.

Full description

UCLA Health will launch an initiative called My Action Plan which is an outreach effort targeting the primary care patients at UCLA who have an outstanding, clinically indicated primary care preventative care gap (e.g., overdue colorectal cancer screening, outstanding diabetes tests) and aims at encouraging patients to complete their overdue health maintenance measures.

At the beginning of each month, identified UCLA Health primary care patients will be enrolled in a trial the investigators have pre-registered under the title "UCLA Health Patient Health Maintenance Outreach Text Message" and randomized to receive one of four text messages informing them that they have overdue health maintenance measures and urging them to take action to complete these measures. These text messages will contain a link to their MyChart patient portal account, specifically linking them to a My Action Plan electronic letter that will contain a personalized list of outstanding preventive care items and actionable steps to complete the items.

In July 2023, if participants do not open their My Action Plan electronic letter within 7 days after the initial outreach, they will be enrolled in the trial described in the current pre-registration. Patients will be randomly assigned in a 1:1:1:1 ratio to receive one of four text reminders 2 weeks after the initial outreach message. Additionally, within each text-reminder arm, patients will be randomized to one of three time slots for getting the reminder. The investigators will examine patients' interaction with these reminders and how that ultimately translates to them completing their indicated health maintenance measures.

The UCLA Department of Medicine (DOM) intends to roll out this QI initiative at the beginning of the 2023 calendar year and continue it for a span of at least 12 months. Each month, the initiative targets patients whose birthday falls into that month. This proposed trial will run for one month (July 2023).

Analysis Plan:

The investigators will utilize patient-level ordinary least squares (OLS) estimation, with statistical inferences based on model-robust standard errors. The primary model term will be indicator variables for arm assignment.

The analysis will adjust for sex, age, race/ethnicity, indicators for screenings/tests that patients are due for, and whether patients have upcoming primary care appointments. Missing covariate values will be handled by including 'unknown' indicators, along with mean imputation for quantitative covariates.

The investigators will first compare Arm 2 with Arm 1 to test the effect of encouraging patients to read the story about a patient whose life was saved by preventive screening.. If the difference is significant in an outcome measure, the investigators will then compare Arms 3 and 4 with Arms 1 and 2 to shed light on why Arm 2 differs from Arm 1.

Exploratory analyses will investigate heterogeneous treatment effects of Arm 2 (vs. Arm 1) by patients' gender, age, race/ethnicity, history of cancer and other pre-existing conditions, family cancer history, past adherence to screenings/tests that are included in the My Action Plan Initiative, past receipt of influenza vaccination, frequency of doctor visits.

Enrollment: 6,894 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. Empaneled to UCLA Health DOM Primary Care
2. Has at least one overdue health maintenance measure that the My Action Plan initiative focuses on
3. Has an active MyChart status
4. Can accept SMS messages from UCLA Health
5. Has not opened the My Action Plan electronic letter within 7 days of initial outreach
6. Has a July Birthday

Exclusion criteria

1. Under the age of 18
2. Deceased patients
3. Hospice patients
4. Has opted out electronic communication (bulk messages, email, and/or text)
5. For the final analysis, the investigators will further exclude patients who have scheduled appointments for all screenings/tests or completed all screenings/tests prior to the date when they are supposed to receive the reminder from this trial

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

---

6,894 participants in 4 patient groups

Control Reminder

Experimental group

Description:

Eligible, randomized participants will receive a generic text message reminding them to close their outstanding health gap.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Reminder of preventive care measures

Anecdote-based Reminder

Experimental group

Description:

Eligible, randomized participants will receive a text message reminding them to close their outstanding health gap. This message will contain an anecdote of a patient whose cancer was caught early through similar, recommended preventive screenings. The message prompts patients to click on a link to read the story about the patient.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Reminder of preventive care measures

Behavioral: Persuasion via anecdote

Anecdote-based Reminder without link

Experimental group

Description:

Eligible, randomized participants will receive a text message reminding them to close their outstanding health gap. This message will contain an anecdote of a patient whose cancer was caught early through similar, recommended preventive screenings. The message won't contain a link to the story, but it will briefly describe the story.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Persuasion via anecdote without link

Behavioral: Reminder of preventive care measures

Research-based Reminder

Experimental group

Description:

Eligible, randomized participants will receive a text message reminding them to close their outstanding health gap. This message will mention that research has shown promptly closing health gaps saves lives. The message will contain a link to an official website that supports the statement.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Reminder of preventive care measures

Behavioral: Persuasion via research