Vaccination nudges: A study of pre-booked COVID-19 vaccinations in Sweden. (September 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bonander, Carl; Ekman, Mats; Jakobsson, Niklas
• Is Part Of: Social science & medicine. Volume 309(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-09
• Subjects: COVID-19 -- Health policy -- Nudge -- Pre-booked -- Vaccination; Social medicine -- Periodicals; Medical anthropology -- Periodicals; Public health -- Periodicals; Psychology -- Periodicals; Medicine -- Periodicals; Medicine -- Periodicals; Médecine sociale -- Périodiques; Anthropologie médicale -- Périodiques; Santé publique -- Périodiques; Psychologie -- Périodiques; Médecine -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 362.105
• DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115248
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0277-9536

Abstract

Abstract: A nudge changes people's actions without removing their options or altering their incentives. During the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, the Swedish Region of Uppsala sent letters with pre-booked appointments to inhabitants aged 16–17 instead of opening up manual appointment booking. Using regional and municipal vaccination data, we document a higher vaccine uptake among 16- to 17-year-olds in Uppsala compared to untreated control regions (constructed using the synthetic control method as well as neighboring municipalities). The results highlight pre-booked appointments as a strategy for increasing vaccination rates in populations with low perceived risk. Highlights: Different measures have been considered to increase vaccinations around the world. One Swedish region used pre-booked COVID-19 vaccinations for 16–17-year-olds. We study the effects of pre-booked appointments using the Synthetic Control Method. Our results highlight pre-booked appointments as a strategy for increasing vaccination rates.