Nudges at the Dentist

Steffen Altmann and Christian Traxler

No 2012_15, Discussion Paper Series of the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods from Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods

Abstract: We implement a randomized field experiment to study the impact of reminders on dental health prevention. Patients who are due for a check-up receive no reminder, a neutral reminder postcard, or reminders including additional information on the benefits of prevention. Our results document a strong impact of reminders. Within one month after receiving a reminder, the fraction of patients who make a check-up appointment more than doubles. The effect declines slightly over time, but remains economically and statistically significant. Including additional information in the reminders does not increase response rates. In fact, the neutral reminder has the strongest impact for the overall population as well as for important subgroups of patients. Finally, we document that being exposed to reminders repeatedly does neither strengthen nor weaken their effectiveness.

Keywords: Field Experiment; Reminders; Nudges; Memory Limitations; Prevention; Dental Health; Framing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 D03 I11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe, nep-exp and nep-hea
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Nudges at the dentist (2014)
Working Paper: Nudges at the Dentist (2012)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:mpg:wpaper:2012_15

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