Improving opportunities for behavioral health care management compliance using behavioral nudges: a randomized-control trial of automated appointment notifications for people on probation

Abstract

Objectives

This study uses a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to investigate the effectiveness of an automated appointment notification system used to improve initial appointment attendance for probation-mandated, nonclinical care management.

Methods

The RCT compared care management intake appointment attendance among individuals who received automated notifications from a control group. A total of 1004 individuals were included in the analytic sample. Analyses explored whether automated notification receipt informs intake attendance rates net of other variables.

Results

Receiving appointment notifications significantly improves intake attendance even after accounting for individual-level characteristics. Additionally, those with a property offense or a prior supervision or incarceration term had lower intake attendance rates.

Conclusions

The current study serves as a proof of concept that advancing technological tools can improve compliance with probation-mandated care management. Future research should evaluate how to optimize this technology and inform best practices for engaging individuals on community supervision.