Lottery Incentive Nudges to Increase Influenza Vaccinations

In the current study, the study team will explore whether small incentives are effective at promoting flu vaccine uptake. The study is designed to compare the relative efficacy of incentives of equal perceived expected value (EV) or equal implementation costs, to assess whether people are more likely to get vaccinated in response to lotteries with very high payoffs than to small certain cash payout or slightly higher-probability, more moderate payoffs. In particular, given the potential appeal of official state lottery tickets, one study arm will receive a Pennsylvania scratch-off lottery ticket for getting a flu vaccine. A primary hypothesis is that lotteries will outperform simple reminders (encouraging respondents to get the flu shot at their upcoming appointment) and the standard of care, representing the ambient healthcare system and public health campaigns to increase vaccination.