Health BehaviorNCT05135325
Encouraging Blood Donation in Patients With a Blood Type in Short Supply
A study testing Patient portal message and Social responsibility in people with Health Behavior, run by Geisinger Clinic at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
As of November 2021, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a months-long national shortage of several types of blood in the U.S. (O-Pos, O-Neg, A-Neg, B-Neg, and AB-Neg), which has extended to a local blood shortage within the Geisinger community. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Health Behavior
- What is being tested?
- Patient portal message and Social responsibility
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 59,093 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 15 Nov 2021to 6 Jun 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 18 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Documented blood type in short supply (for message groups and shortage control group)
- Documented blood type not in short supply (for no-shortage control group)
- Age 18+
Who cannot join
- Hemoglobin test result < 12.5 within the 3 months prior to list creation
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
As of November 2021, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a months-long national shortage of several types of blood in the U.S. (O-Pos, O-Neg, A-Neg, B-Neg, and AB-Neg), which has extended to a local blood shortage within the Geisinger community. The broad aim of this collaborative healthcare operations quality improvement project is to determine whether a message indicating that a patient's own blood type is in short supply increases the likelihood that they will donate, compared to a message that mentions a blood shortage without referencing the patient's blood type, or no message at all. Scientists in Geisinger's Behavioral Insights Team (BIT), part of Geisinger's Steele Institute for Health Innovation, will collaborate with Miller Keystone, where Geisinger refers patients who wish to donate blood and from whom Geisinger receives blood for clinical purposes. Patients with one of the needed blood types will be randomized to receive 1) a message about a blood shortage that does not specify the blood types in short supply or their own blood type (no-blood-type message), 2) the same message modified slightly to specify the recipient's blood type, and to mention that their blood type is in short supply (blood-type message), or 3) no message (shortage control group). A second no-contact control group of patients without any of the needed blood types will also be observed (no-shortage control group). Both the blood-type and no-blood-type messages are informed by behavioral science, emphasizing supply needs in local hospitals and providing community-relevant examples of why someone might need blood (e.g., farming or industrial accidents). The BIT will compare how many patients in each group choose to donate blood. They hypothesize that: 1) patients who receive either message will be more likely to donate than patients who receive no message; and 2) patients who receive the blood-type message will be more likely to donate than those who receive the no-blood-type message. With respect to the latter hypothesis, informing the recipient that they have one of the needed blood types may increase their perception that they are in a semi-unique position to help someone in need as compared to a more general message that may suffer from a diffusion of responsibility effect.
- Conditions
- Health Behavior
- Being tested
- Patient portal message, Social responsibility
- Keywords
- Blood donations, Nudge, Behavior change
- Medical subject headings
- Health Behavior
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Patient portal messageBehavioural
Portal message encourages patients to donate blood
Social responsibilityBehavioural
Message specifies that there is a shortage of the patient's blood type
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| No-blood-type message | Experimental | This group will receive a message that does not mention the patient's blood type, or that the patient's blood type is in short supply. Receives: Behavioral: Patient portal message |
| Blood-type message | Experimental | This group will receive a message that mentions the patient's blood type and that states their blood type is in short supply. Receives: Behavioral: Patient portal message; Behavioral: Social responsibility |
| Shortage control | No intervention | This group will not receive a message. |
| No-shortage control | No intervention | This group will not receive a message. |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Number of Participants Who Attended a Donation Appointment
Attended a donation appointment within 6 weeks of their message send date, regardless of whether they donated. This outcome includes patients who were unable to donate for any reason (e.g. low hemoglobin) or patients who showed up to the appointment but decided to leave before donating.
Measured: Within 6 weeks of the final message send date
Secondary outcomes (2)
Number of Participants Who Successfully Donated Blood
Attended a donation appointment within 6 weeks of their message send date and successfully donated, excluding patients who were turned away from or left their appointment without donating.
Measured: Within 6 weeks of the final message send date
Number of Participants Who Scheduled a Blood Donation Appointment
Scheduled an appointment within 2 weeks of their message send date.
Measured: Within 2 weeks of the final message send date
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted26 Nov 2021
- Study start15 Nov 2021
- Primary completion6 Jun 2022
- Study completion6 Jun 2022
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Health BehaviorStudies 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
- Health services research
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Double blind
- Who is masked
- Participant, Care provider
- Enrolment
- 59,093 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Geisinger Clinic
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Amir Goren, PhD, Principal investigator, Geisinger Clinic
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05135325
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 2021-0476
- Status last verified
- Jul 2022
- First submitted
- 15 Nov 2021
- Last updated
- 26 Jul 2022
- Results posted
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Yes: Data with no personally identifiable information will be made available to other researchers on the Open Science Framework for transparency.
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 26 Jul 2022. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Encouraging Blood Donation in Patients With a Blood Type in Short Supply
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05135325
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 2021-0476
- Conditions
- Health Behavior
- Keywords
- Blood donations, Nudge, Behavior change
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 59,093 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Geisinger ClinicUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 15 Nov 2021 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 6 Jun 2022 (actual)
- Study completion
- 6 Jun 2022 (actual)
- First posted
- 26 Nov 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.
As of November 2021, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a months-long national shortage of several types of blood in the U.S. (O-Pos, O-Neg, A-Neg, B-Neg, and AB-Neg), which has extended to a local blood shortage within the Geisinger community. The broad aim of this collaborative healthcare operations quality improvement project is to determine whether a message indicating that a patient's own blood type is in short supply increases the likelihood that they will donate, compared to a message that mentions a blood shortage without referencing the patient's blood type, or no message at all. Scientists in Geisinger's Behavioral Insights Team (BIT), part of Geisinger's Steele Institute for Health Innovation, will collaborate with Miller Keystone, where Geisinger refers patients who wish to donate blood and from whom Geisinger receives blood for clinical purposes. Patients with one of the needed blood types will be randomized to receive 1) a message about a blood shortage that does not specify the blood types in short supply or their own blood type (no-blood-type message), 2) the same message modified slightly to specify the recipient's blood type, and to mention that their blood type is in short supply (blood-type message), or 3) no message (shortage control group). A second no-contact control group of patients without any of the needed blood types will also be observed (no-shortage control group). Both the blood-type and no-blood-type messages are informed by behavioral science, emphasizing supply needs in local hospitals and providing community-relevant examples of why someone might need blood (e.g., farming or industrial accidents). The BIT will compare how many patients in each group choose to donate blood. They hypothesize that: 1) patients who receive either message will be more likely to donate than patients who receive no message; and 2) patients who receive the blood-type message will be more likely to donate than those who receive the no-blood-type message. With respect to the latter hypothesis, informing the recipient that they have one of the needed blood types may increase their perception that they are in a semi-unique position to help someone in need as compared to a more general message that may suffer from a diffusion of responsibility effect.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Health services research
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Double blind (participant, care provider)
- Number of arms
- 4
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| No-blood-type message | Experimental | Behavioral: Patient portal messageThis group will receive a message that does not mention the patient's blood type, or that the patient's blood type is in short supply. |
| Blood-type message | Experimental | Behavioral: Patient portal message, Behavioral: Social responsibilityThis group will receive a message that mentions the patient's blood type and that states their blood type is in short supply. |
| Shortage control | No intervention | –This group will not receive a message. |
| No-shortage control | No intervention | –This group will not receive a message. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Documented blood type in short supply (for message groups and shortage control group)
- Documented blood type not in short supply (for no-shortage control group)
- Age 18+
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Hemoglobin test result < 12.5 within the 3 months prior to list creation
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Patient portal messagePortal message encourages patients to donate blood | Behavioural | Blood-type message, No-blood-type message |
| Social responsibilityMessage specifies that there is a shortage of the patient's blood type | Behavioural | Blood-type message |
Primary outcome
Number of Participants Who Attended a Donation Appointment
Time frame: Within 6 weeks of the final message send date
Attended a donation appointment within 6 weeks of their message send date, regardless of whether they donated. This outcome includes patients who were unable to donate for any reason (e.g. low hemoglobin) or patients who showed up to the appointment but decided to leave before donating.
2 secondary outcomes
Number of Participants Who Successfully Donated Blood
Time frame: Within 6 weeks of the final message send date
Number of Participants Who Scheduled a Blood Donation Appointment
Time frame: Within 2 weeks of the final message send date
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 26 Jul 2022.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Yes. Data with no personally identifiable information will be made available to other researchers on the Open Science Framework for transparency.
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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.
Amir Goren, PhD principal investigator
Geisinger Clinic
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Patient portal message and Social responsibility in people with Health Behavior, run by Geisinger Clinic at 1 site in United States.
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 3 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 26 Jul 2022. 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 United States. 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?
Number of Participants Who Attended a Donation Appointment (time frame: Within 6 weeks of the final message send date). 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 26 Jul 2022.