Nationwide Utilization of Danish Government Electronic Letter System for Increasing InFLUenza Vaccine Uptake

Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms, Influenza

Influenza, Vaccination, Nudging, Behavioral Science

In randomized clinical trials and observational studies, influenza vaccination has been shown to be effective in reducing influenza-related illness, hospitalizations, cardiovascular events, and mortality in select populations. However, the real-world effectiveness of influenza vaccination is limited by its uptake. This study will investigate investigate whether digital behavioral nudges delivered via the official, mandatory Danish electronic letter system can increase influenza vaccine uptake among eligible influenza vaccination candidates.

The study is a prospective, randomized, open-label implementation trial. The study population will consist of persons identified as eligible for free-of-charge influenza vaccination in the Danish health system aged 18 years and above. Subjects will be identified through Danish nationwide health registries using codes from the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10) and the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification system. Individuals will be randomized to 1 of 10 arms (1 control arm and 9 intervention arms) with each testing different nudging strategies employing various behavioural economic principles. The interventions will be delivered through the official, mandatory Danish electronic letter system. All subject data will be retrieved from the Danish nationwide registries with the exception of information on intervention allocation. Endpoints will be retrieved at prespecified dates using prespecified search algorithms. The study will be performed in collaboration with the Danish Health Data Authority and Statens Serum Institut.

Denmark