EARN-Health: A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effects of an Incentivized Savings Program on Depression, Anxiety, Substance Abuse, and Locus of Control
试验速览
- 阶段
- 不适用
- 状态
- 已完成
- 入组人数
- 678
- 试验地点
- 2
- 主要终点
- Self-rated health scales
研究概览
简要总结
The current literature in social epidemiology and public health suggests that low financial savings has an unsurprising negative relationship with subjective well-being, and increases the odds of making visits to a healthcare provider, receiving a chronic disease diagnosis, and experiencing medical disability. Earn.org is a community-based non-profit based in San Francisco with a mission to help low-income workers build lifelong savings habits and financial capability. The organization is one of the largest providers of "goal-based savings accounts" or "matched savings accounts" in the US. The investigators propose to conduct a randomized controlled trial to determine the health effects of Earn's savings program. Through this trial, the investigators will test three principal hypotheses: (1) Participants in the Earn account, as compared to a control group, are hypothesized to demonstrate improved scores on mental health scales assessing depression and anxiety.
(2) Participants in the Earn account, as compared to a control group, are hypothesized to experience lower odds of harmful behaviors associated with stress, specifically tobacco and alcohol abuse. The investigators hypothesize that the effect on behaviors will be of smaller effect size, and more delayed, than the effect on mental health outcomes, judging from similar effects observed in the micro-credit literature.
(3) The mediating variables between Earn account participation and beneficial health outcomes will include increased optimism and internal locus of control.
详细描述
The investigators plan to conduct an RCT comparing participants in the new EARN program against wait-listed control subjects. The program provides low-wage workers with incentives and rewards for savings. The program involves a web-based platform that permits eligible savers to create a centralized savings account, which is a secure online account without fees. The account offers eligible savers small monetary rewards for dollars saved each month. The investigators plan to conduct a baseline online month 0 survey and a follow-up 6 month and 12 month online survey among participants and wait-listed nonparticipants, with telephone follow-up to maximize 6- and 12-month survey completion. The surveys consist of previously-validated instruments to assess key health behaviors self-reported well-being, and require approximately 20 minutes each. The surveys includes the CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System scales for assessing demographics and income, overall self-rated health, tobacco and alcohol use, depression and anxiety symptoms, and optimism and locus of control. Participants will receive prorated a gift card for each survey, to compensate participants for their time while avoiding a direct income effect of a cash incentive for participation.
研究设计
- 研究类型
- Interventional
- 分配方式
- Randomized
- 干预模型
- Parallel
- 主要目的
- Prevention
- 盲法
- Single (Investigator)
入排标准
- 年龄范围
- 18 Years 至 —（Adult, Older Adult）
- 性别
- All
- 接受健康志愿者
- 是
入选标准
- •English-speaking US residents
- •ages 18 and older
- •below 50% of the area median income
- •have a regular Internet connection
排除标准
- •non-English speakers
- •non-US residents
- •children,
- •history of or current enrollment in other incentivized savings programs
结局指标
主要结局
Self-rated health scales
时间窗: 12 months
The following survey measures of self-rated health are taken from the validated CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Study and will be recorded and reported from our study: H0) Would you say that in general your health, as compared to other people your age, is...? \[ Excellent Very good Good Fair OR Poor \] H1) Please think about your physical health. This includes physical illness and injury. How many days during the past 30 days was your physical health not good? \[Number from 0 to 30\] H2) Now please think about your emotional health. This includes stress, depression, and anxiety. How many days during the past 30 days was your emotional health not good? \[Number from 0 to 30\] H3) During the past 30 days, for about how many days did poor physical or emotional health keep you from doing your usual activities, such as self-care, work, or recreation? \[Number from 0 to 30\]
次要结局
- Alcohol abuse screening questions(12 months)
- Optimism Likert scales(12 months)
- Spending behaviors(12 months)
- Depression and anxiety symptoms: yes/no questions(12 months)
- Tobacco abuse screening questions(12 months)
- Locus of control Likert scales(12 months)