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Ahead of the AIDS 2022 conference, we compiled a BE RoadMap that summarised the behavioural economics research presented during the conference. For those who missed the sessions at the AIDS 2022 conference, the recordings will be publicly available on the conference website from October.
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Indlela’s satellite session at AIDS 2022, Nudging our way to 95-95-95: a behavioural economics capacity building and research initiative in South Africa had a large in-person audience as well as virtual participants from 16 different countries. After the Indlela team’s presentations about our approach and some of our projects, an esteemed panel of experts engaged the audience in a multifaceted discussion about applying behavioural science, engaging communities, leveraging technology, and expanding beyond HIV.
For those who missed this exciting session you can access it here.
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It was great to meet some of our Indlela BIT partners at the conference from PSI and Anova Health Institute.
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This BIT project is a collaboration between Indlela, Population Services International (PSI), Matchboxology and HE2RO and aims to evaluate the acceptability of the B-OK bead bottles among people living with HIV (PLHIV). It also seeks to explore if there are any changes in knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, and intentions in ART linkage to care, initiation or re-engagement in care. We will use a mixed methods approach to collect data from approximately 80 adults who are newly diagnosed with HIV or are re-engaging on ART. This study will take place in the iLembe district, Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN) province. Read more about the study here.
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In partnership with Anova Health Institute, the “fresh start” BIT project to promote re-engagement in HIV care kicked off ahead of the two chosen temporal landmarks: 16 June (Youth Day) and 18 July (Mandela Day). A temporal landmark is a specific time when people may be most motivated to engage in a specific behaviour to achieve personal goals. Text messages were sent five days before and one day after each temporal landmark. In total 12,780 text messages were sent with an average delivery rate of about 54%. We are monitoring return to care from our sample, so look out for more results! Read more about the study here.
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We are excited to announce that the Right to Care (Moya) BIT project launched on 8 August. Individuals registering for voluntary medical male circumcision will be exposed to either a standard of care or one of four different registration forms that use behavioural economics principles to promote further engagement with VMMC services. These forms will be rotated weekly until 21 November and we will be assessing which forms are most effective in generating demand for VMMC. Read more about the study here, and look out for results in our December edition!
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Another big highlight for us is that our amazing team reached the enrollment target of 550 healthcare workers, care recipients and community members to our Indlela Community Panel. The aim of the Community Panel is to assemble a cohort of individuals who can be contacted for different studies and surveys to assess the likely effectiveness of behavioural nudges or elicit opinions about nudges before they are implemented on a larger scale. We will share more information on the Community Panel projects in the next newsletter. Read more about the Indlela Community Panel here.
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To our field team: Portia Ngwenya, William Magolego, Nonhlanhla Tshabalala, Hazel Tau and Michael Mothapo, thanks for making each and every enrollment a success.
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Indlela team achievements
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Indlela Nudge Associate Ms. Preethi Mistri participated as a panelist together with Dr. Monika Kamkuemah in a webinar titled Adolescents and Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) hosted by the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation. This episode featured talks by Prof. Mary Barker on engaging adolescents in improving health and well-being and Prof. Nasheeta Peer and Dr. Theo Adom on risk factors for and prevention of NCDs in adolescents.
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Yesterday, we released our latest Viewpoint that covers the launch of the Indlela Behavioural Insights Test (BIT) Indlela Community Panel. We adapt the traditional model of a consumer panel used in marketing to creating relevant products, and apply this in the context of creating behaviourally informed interventions in the HIV service delivery space. Read more about our rationale for creating this group, our vision for how we hope to use it, and opportunities to partner with us in the latest Viewpoint.
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Prof. Harsha Thirumurthy and Aaron Richterman published an article in Nature Human Behavior on The effects of cash transfer programmes on HIV-related outcomes in 42 countries from 1996 to 2019. This article uses secondary data from 42 countries and a difference-in-differences approach to estimate the effect of cash transfer programmes on various HIV outcomes. The article finds that the introduction of cash transfer programmes was associated with higher HIV testing, fewer sexually transmitted infections among females, reductions in new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths, and improvements in antiretroviral coverage. The results suggest that anti-poverty programmes can play a greater role in achieving global targets for HIV prevention and treatment.
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Dr. Jacqui Miot and colleagues published an article on Health technology assessment (HTA) in support of National Health Insurance in South Africa in the International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care. The paper argues that a credible, successful and sustainable HTA process will require ongoing investment in personnel with a range of competencies. NHI represents an opportunity for all South Africans to realize their constitutional right of progressive access to quality healthcare under a UHC system. The experiences of other countries which have applied HTA systems and processes in support of UHC are instructive; however, the practical structures of the South African HTA process will need to be “homegrown,” tailored to the local context, and built on existing approaches.
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The Behavioural Scientist’s Summer Book List 2022 features books published from January to August 2022 and they have 26 interesting titles thus far. These books illuminate new research and those that investigate complex social issues.
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The Behavioural Economics Guide 2022 is the leading annual publication dedicated to behavioural economics and behavioural insights. Each edition features contributions from renowned scholars in behavioural sciences and practitioners from around the globe.
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Michael Hallsworth of the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) weighed in on the “Do nudges work” debate. He argues that this debate is complex and the impact of nudges is shadowed by the misclassification of what constitutes a nudge.
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The Journal of International AIDS Society (JIAS), released a supplement on the oral and late breaker abstracts from the AIDS 2022 conference. Use this link on Abstracts from AIDS2022 to access a full range of topics.
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What are we listening to?
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We attended Nudgestock 2022 and wanted to highlight three of our favorite talks.
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Prof. Katy Milkman talks about nudging flu vaccinations using text messages in two mega-studies. Find out which behavioural economics principles and strategies were most effective at Can text messages save lives?: Nudging vaccinations [Start listening from 18:40]
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“All choices have a hidden partner…the environment designer”. Prof. Eric Johnson, talks about Designing Better Choices. Choice architecture is often understood as defaults, however, could include other elements, ranging from the number and order of options, to choice attributes and descriptions of choices. Listen to Prof. Johnson’s views on The elements of choice [Start listening from 18:08]
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Upcoming results from current BIT projects
New posts on Indlela’s Viewpoint
Updates on Indlela’s publications
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