Behaviourally-informed household communications increase uptake of radon tests in a randomised controlled trial
Abstract Exposure to radon gas is a leading cause of lung cancer. Testing homes for the gas is straightforward, yet most people do not undertake tests even when offered freely. We report a pre-registered randomised controlled trial of communications to encourage test uptake. Households (N = 3500) in...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-47832-z |
| _version_ | 1797452896778846208 |
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| author | Shane Timmons Peter D. Lunn |
| author_facet | Shane Timmons Peter D. Lunn |
| author_sort | Shane Timmons |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Exposure to radon gas is a leading cause of lung cancer. Testing homes for the gas is straightforward, yet most people do not undertake tests even when offered freely. We report a pre-registered randomised controlled trial of communications to encourage test uptake. Households (N = 3500) in areas at high risk of radon exposure were randomly assigned to receive (i) a the control letter from the national Environmental Protection Agency; (ii) a behaviourally-informed version of the control letter that incorporated multiple nudges, including reciprocity messages and numeric frequencies of risk; (iii) this same behaviourally-informed letter in a re-designed envelope; (iv) the behaviourally-informed letter in the re-designed enveloped with a radon risk map of the household’s county. The behaviourally-informed letter led to a large increase in test uptake, from 22% in the control condition to 33% (a 50% increase). There was no additional benefit of the re-designed envelope, which generated uptake of 30%. Including the map led some households to respond faster, but the overall uptake (26%) was weaker. The results have implications for public health communications with households and show the potential for techniques from behavioural science to help mitigate environmental risks. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:15:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1f910d4394b946be849f5a6463bd6609 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:15:18Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-1f910d4394b946be849f5a6463bd66092023-11-26T13:06:33ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-11-011311810.1038/s41598-023-47832-zBehaviourally-informed household communications increase uptake of radon tests in a randomised controlled trialShane Timmons0Peter D. Lunn1Economic and Social Research InstituteEconomic and Social Research InstituteAbstract Exposure to radon gas is a leading cause of lung cancer. Testing homes for the gas is straightforward, yet most people do not undertake tests even when offered freely. We report a pre-registered randomised controlled trial of communications to encourage test uptake. Households (N = 3500) in areas at high risk of radon exposure were randomly assigned to receive (i) a the control letter from the national Environmental Protection Agency; (ii) a behaviourally-informed version of the control letter that incorporated multiple nudges, including reciprocity messages and numeric frequencies of risk; (iii) this same behaviourally-informed letter in a re-designed envelope; (iv) the behaviourally-informed letter in the re-designed enveloped with a radon risk map of the household’s county. The behaviourally-informed letter led to a large increase in test uptake, from 22% in the control condition to 33% (a 50% increase). There was no additional benefit of the re-designed envelope, which generated uptake of 30%. Including the map led some households to respond faster, but the overall uptake (26%) was weaker. The results have implications for public health communications with households and show the potential for techniques from behavioural science to help mitigate environmental risks.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-47832-z |
| spellingShingle | Shane Timmons Peter D. Lunn Behaviourally-informed household communications increase uptake of radon tests in a randomised controlled trial Scientific Reports |
| title | Behaviourally-informed household communications increase uptake of radon tests in a randomised controlled trial |
| title_full | Behaviourally-informed household communications increase uptake of radon tests in a randomised controlled trial |
| title_fullStr | Behaviourally-informed household communications increase uptake of radon tests in a randomised controlled trial |
| title_full_unstemmed | Behaviourally-informed household communications increase uptake of radon tests in a randomised controlled trial |
| title_short | Behaviourally-informed household communications increase uptake of radon tests in a randomised controlled trial |
| title_sort | behaviourally informed household communications increase uptake of radon tests in a randomised controlled trial |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-47832-z |
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