AgingNCT04870593
What Works to Get the Elderly Vaccinated Against COVID-19? Experimental Evidence From India
A study testing Information, Buddy and Gossip intervention in people with Aging and Covid19, run by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. at 1 site in India.
Trial summary
COVID-19 poses a substantial risk to elderly populations; understanding how to get elders vaccinated against the virus is therefore a policy priority. An experiment with elders in Tamil Nadu, India will be used to evaluate interventions policymakers might use to raise vaccination rates amongst the elderly. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 55 years and older
- What is being tested?
- Information, Buddy and Gossip intervention
- Type of treatment
- Vaccines, Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 3,006 participants
- Where
- 1 siteIndia
- Study dates
- 17 Apr 2021to 30 Sep 2022
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 55 years and older
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- At least 55 years of age
- Has phone number
Who cannot join
- Not part of the experiments registered under protocol IDs 223749 or 172020
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
COVID-19 poses a substantial risk to elderly populations; understanding how to get elders vaccinated against the virus is therefore a policy priority. An experiment with elders in Tamil Nadu, India will be used to evaluate interventions policymakers might use to raise vaccination rates amongst the elderly. The particular interventions being tested are: calling elders to inform them about vaccination; encouragement of a "buddy system," whereby elders are accompanied to the vaccination site by another adult who could also get the vaccine; and seeding vaccination information with "gossips," individuals who elders identify as being good at spreading information in the elders' communities. The interventions are phone-based, and can be implemented quickly and at low cost. This makes them promising strategies the Tamil Nadu government and other governments could use to vaccinate elderly populations against COVID-19.
- Being tested
- Information, Buddy, Gossip intervention, Information assigned in community, Buddy assigned in community
- Medical subject headings
- COVID-19
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
InformationBehavioural
Elder informed about vaccination.
BuddyBehavioural
Elder encouraged to get vaccinated using "buddy system," whereby he/she is accompanied to the vaccination site by another adult who could also get the vaccine. A potential buddy also given vaccination information and encouraged to help the elder get to the vaccination site so they could both be vaccinated.
Gossip interventionBehavioural
Members of elder's community asked who in the community is good at spreading information. These "gossips" then asked to spread information about vaccination of elders. If buddy intervention assigned in community, gossips also asked to encourage their communities to use the buddy system to get elders vaccinated.
Information assigned in communityBehavioural
Information intervention assigned for other elders in community.
Buddy assigned in communityBehavioural
Buddy intervention assigned for other elders in community.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Community receives buddy and gossip treatment, individual informed directly (arm (1)) | Experimental | (i) Individual elder given vaccination information.
(ii) Individual elder encouraged to get vaccinated using "buddy system," whereby he/she is accompanied to the vaccination site by another adult who could also get the vaccine. A potential buddy also given vaccination information and encouraged to help the elder get to the vaccination site so they could both be vaccinated.
(iii) Members of elder's community asked who in the community is good at spreading information. These "gossips" then asked to spread information about vaccination of elders and to encourage their communities to use the buddy system to get elders vaccinated. Receives: Behavioral: Information; Behavioral: Buddy; Behavioral: Gossip intervention; Behavioral: Information assigned in community; Behavioral: Buddy assigned in community |
| Community receives buddy and gossip treatment, individual not informed directly (arm (2)) | Experimental | Individual elder lives in community with elders in arm (1). Receives: Behavioral: Gossip intervention; Behavioral: Information assigned in community; Behavioral: Buddy assigned in community |
| Community receives gossip treatment, individual informed directly (arm (3)) | Experimental | (i) Individual elder given vaccination information.
(ii) Members of elder's community asked who in the community is good at spreading information. These "gossips" then asked to spread information about vaccination of elders. Receives: Behavioral: Information; Behavioral: Gossip intervention; Behavioral: Information assigned in community |
| Community receives gossip treatment, individual not informed directly (arm (4)) | Experimental | Individual elder lives in community with elders in arm (3). Receives: Behavioral: Gossip intervention; Behavioral: Information assigned in community |
| Community receives buddy treatment, individual informed directly (arm (5)) | Experimental | (i) Individual elder given vaccination information.
(ii) Individual elder encouraged to get vaccinated using "buddy system," whereby he/she is accompanied to the vaccination site by another adult who could also get the vaccine. A potential buddy also given vaccination information and encouraged to help the elder get to the vaccination site so they could both be vaccinated. Receives: Behavioral: Information; Behavioral: Buddy; Behavioral: Information assigned in community; Behavioral: Buddy assigned in community |
| Community receives buddy treatment, individual not informed directly (arm (6)) | Experimental | Individual elder lives in community with elders in arm (5). Receives: Behavioral: Information assigned in community; Behavioral: Buddy assigned in community |
| Community receives information, individual informed directly (arm (7)) | Experimental | Individual elder given vaccination information. Receives: Behavioral: Information; Behavioral: Information assigned in community |
| Community receives information, individual not informed directly (arm (8)) | Experimental | Individual elder lives in community with elders in arm (7). Receives: Behavioral: Information assigned in community |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Received at least one shot
Elders asked on phone call if they have received zero, one, or two doses of COVID-19 vaccine. Outcome takes the value of 1 if they received at least one shot, and 0 otherwise.
Measured: 8 weeks after intervention
Received two shots
Elders asked on phone call if they have received zero, one, or two doses of COVID-19 vaccine. Outcome takes the value of 1 if they received two shots, and 0 otherwise.
Measured: 8 weeks after intervention
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted3 May 2021
- Study start17 Apr 2021
- Primary completion30 Sep 2022
- Study completion30 Sep 2022
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for AgingStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 3,006 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Esther Duflo, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04870593
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 1702861995A021
- Status last verified
- Mar 2023
- First submitted
- 28 Apr 2021
- Last updated
- 29 Mar 2023
- Results posted
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 29 Mar 2023. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- What Works to Get the Elderly Vaccinated Against COVID-19? Experimental Evidence From India
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT04870593
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 1702861995A021
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 3,006 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.University, hospital or other
- Study start
- 17 Apr 2021 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 30 Sep 2022 (actual)
- Study completion
- 30 Sep 2022 (actual)
- First posted
- 3 May 2021 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
COVID-19 poses a substantial risk to elderly populations; understanding how to get elders vaccinated against the virus is therefore a policy priority. An experiment with elders in Tamil Nadu, India will be used to evaluate interventions policymakers might use to raise vaccination rates amongst the elderly. The particular interventions being tested are: calling elders to inform them about vaccination; encouragement of a "buddy system," whereby elders are accompanied to the vaccination site by another adult who could also get the vaccine; and seeding vaccination information with "gossips," individuals who elders identify as being good at spreading information in the elders' communities. The interventions are phone-based, and can be implemented quickly and at low cost. This makes them promising strategies the Tamil Nadu government and other governments could use to vaccinate elderly populations against COVID-19.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 8
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Community receives buddy and gossip treatment, individual informed directly (arm (1)) | Experimental | Behavioral: Information, Behavioral: Buddy, Behavioral: Gossip intervention, Behavioral: Information assigned in community, Behavioral: Buddy assigned in community(i) Individual elder given vaccination information. (ii) Individual elder encouraged to get vaccinated using "buddy system," whereby he/she is accompanied to the vaccination site by another adult who could also get the vaccine. A potential buddy also given vaccination information and encouraged to help the elder get to the vaccination site so they could both be vaccinated. (iii) Members of elder's community asked who in the community is good at spreading information. These "gossips" then asked to spread information about vaccination of elders and to encourage their communities to use the buddy system to get elders vaccinated. |
| Community receives buddy and gossip treatment, individual not informed directly (arm (2)) | Experimental | Behavioral: Gossip intervention, Behavioral: Information assigned in community, Behavioral: Buddy assigned in communityIndividual elder lives in community with elders in arm (1). |
| Community receives gossip treatment, individual informed directly (arm (3)) | Experimental | Behavioral: Information, Behavioral: Gossip intervention, Behavioral: Information assigned in community(i) Individual elder given vaccination information. (ii) Members of elder's community asked who in the community is good at spreading information. These "gossips" then asked to spread information about vaccination of elders. |
| Community receives gossip treatment, individual not informed directly (arm (4)) | Experimental | Behavioral: Gossip intervention, Behavioral: Information assigned in communityIndividual elder lives in community with elders in arm (3). |
| Community receives buddy treatment, individual informed directly (arm (5)) | Experimental | Behavioral: Information, Behavioral: Buddy, Behavioral: Information assigned in community, Behavioral: Buddy assigned in community(i) Individual elder given vaccination information. (ii) Individual elder encouraged to get vaccinated using "buddy system," whereby he/she is accompanied to the vaccination site by another adult who could also get the vaccine. A potential buddy also given vaccination information and encouraged to help the elder get to the vaccination site so they could both be vaccinated. |
| Community receives buddy treatment, individual not informed directly (arm (6)) | Experimental | Behavioral: Information assigned in community, Behavioral: Buddy assigned in communityIndividual elder lives in community with elders in arm (5). |
| Community receives information, individual informed directly (arm (7)) | Experimental | Behavioral: Information, Behavioral: Information assigned in communityIndividual elder given vaccination information. |
| Community receives information, individual not informed directly (arm (8)) | Experimental | Behavioral: Information assigned in communityIndividual elder lives in community with elders in arm (7). |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 55 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (2 listed)
- At least 55 years of age
- Has phone number
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Not part of the experiments registered under protocol IDs 223749 or 172020
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| InformationElder informed about vaccination. | Behavioural | Community receives buddy and gossip treatment, individual informed directly (arm (1)), Community receives buddy treatment, individual informed directly (arm (5)), Community receives gossip treatment, individual informed directly (arm (3)), Community receives information, individual informed directly (arm (7)) |
| BuddyElder encouraged to get vaccinated using "buddy system," whereby he/she is accompanied to the vaccination site by another adult who could also get the vaccine. A potential buddy also given vaccination information and encouraged to help the elder get to the vaccination site so they could both be vaccinated. | Behavioural | Community receives buddy and gossip treatment, individual informed directly (arm (1)), Community receives buddy treatment, individual informed directly (arm (5)) |
| Gossip interventionMembers of elder's community asked who in the community is good at spreading information. These "gossips" then asked to spread information about vaccination of elders. If buddy intervention assigned in community, gossips also asked to encourage their communities to use the buddy system to get elders vaccinated. | Behavioural | Community receives buddy and gossip treatment, individual informed directly (arm (1)), Community receives buddy and gossip treatment, individual not informed directly (arm (2)), Community receives gossip treatment, individual informed directly (arm (3)), Community receives gossip treatment, individual not informed directly (arm (4)) |
| Information assigned in communityInformation intervention assigned for other elders in community. | Behavioural | Community receives buddy and gossip treatment, individual informed directly (arm (1)), Community receives buddy and gossip treatment, individual not informed directly (arm (2)), Community receives buddy treatment, individual informed directly (arm (5)), Community receives buddy treatment, individual not informed directly (arm (6)), Community receives gossip treatment, individual informed directly (arm (3)), Community receives gossip treatment, individual not informed directly (arm (4)), Community receives information, individual informed directly (arm (7)), Community receives information, individual not informed directly (arm (8)) |
| Buddy assigned in communityBuddy intervention assigned for other elders in community. | Behavioural | Community receives buddy and gossip treatment, individual informed directly (arm (1)), Community receives buddy and gossip treatment, individual not informed directly (arm (2)), Community receives buddy treatment, individual informed directly (arm (5)), Community receives buddy treatment, individual not informed directly (arm (6)) |
Primary outcome
Received at least one shot
Time frame: 8 weeks after intervention
Elders asked on phone call if they have received zero, one, or two doses of COVID-19 vaccine. Outcome takes the value of 1 if they received at least one shot, and 0 otherwise.
Received two shots
Time frame: 8 weeks after intervention
Elders asked on phone call if they have received zero, one, or two doses of COVID-19 vaccine. Outcome takes the value of 1 if they received two shots, and 0 otherwise.
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 29 Mar 2023.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Information, Buddy and Gossip intervention in people with Aging and Covid19, run by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. at 1 site in India.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 29 Mar 2023. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in India. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Received at least one shot (time frame: 8 weeks after intervention). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 29 Mar 2023.