The Healthy Nudge

November 2024

Welcome to The Healthy Nudge. Each month, we'll get you up to speed on the latest developments in policy-relevant health behavioral economics research at CHIBE. See our 5 top stories below.

1) How to build a good research partnership

How do great research collaborations happen? CHIBE Associate Director Dr. M. Kit Delgado cultivated a successful partnership with Progressive Insurance and TrueMotion (now called Cambridge Mobile Telematics) on a series of studies testing ways to reduce handheld phone use while driving. The results led to important findings that behavioral economics tools can help reduce distracted driving by 20-28%. Read the Q&A here.

CHIBE is highlighting the ways our affiliates have created successful research partnerships. This is the first in a series of articles illustrating effective collaborations. Are you a CHIBE investigator looking for a partner for your research, or do you have a partnership story to tell? Contact chibe@pennmedicine.upenn.edu.

2) CHIBE hosts Behavioral Science and Health Symposium

CHIBE welcomed economists, clinicians, and academics from around the globe to Penn for a two-day symposium on behavioral science and health. This year, the symposium featured two keynote speakers: Drs. Marcella Alsan (Harvard) and Noah Goldstein (UCLA). Attendees heard talks on topics related to trust, emotion, bias, equity, power, the environment, and the patient experience. Read the full recap on the symposium and see photos here.

Find our Q&A with Dr. Alsan on why the U.S. doesn't have national health insurance here. Read our Q&A with Dr. Goldstein on social influences on provider behavior here.

3) CHIBE hosts Roybal Retreat

CHIBE members gathered last month for the annual Roybal Retreat, a moment for faculty and staff to learn about each other’s work and build new relationships. We welcomed Dr. Ingrid Nembhard (Wharton) as our keynote speaker to talk about moving from innovation to improvement. Read about the retreat and see photos here.

4) CHIBE faculty win Penn Medicine Awards of Excellence

Congratulations to CHIBE affiliates Drs. Raina Merchant, Michael Harhay, and Marilyn Schapira on winning Penn Medicine Awards of Excellence this year. Dr. Merchant won the Arthur K. Asbury Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award, Dr. Harhay won the Marjorie A. Bowman New Investigator Research Award, and Dr. Schapira won the Samuel Martin Health Evaluation Sciences Research Award. Read about their awards here.

5) Did Philadelphia’s soda tax have an impact on people’s health?

A new study shows the sugary beverage tax made a small difference in slowing down weight gain.

“None of these studies are showing massive reductions in obesity, but when we’re thinking about 1 to 3 percentage point changes in some cases, declines in obesity prevalence, that’s a huge deal, especially from a policy that’s targeting just one unhealthy food group,” Dr. Christina Roberto said. “I studied dietary change for 25 years. I’ve done behavioral weight loss treatment with patients. It’s incredibly hard to change dietary behaviors. And this tax does a profound job of doing that while raising money for the city. So I just think it’s such a no-brainer policy.” Read the WHYY story here.