tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Vaccine
. 2026 Jun 30:89:128894.
doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2026.128894. Online ahead of print.
Effectiveness and acceptability of an opt-out nudge to promote influenza vaccination among medical residents: A randomized controlled trial
Adriaan Barbaroux[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Ilaria Serati[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Isabelle Milhabet[SUP] 3 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Nudging has been proposed as an effective tool for promoting influenza vaccination among healthcare workers. To be successful, nudges must be considered acceptable. This paper evaluated the effectiveness and the acceptability of a nudge promoting influenza vaccination among medical residents in four hospitals in France. The hypotheses were that exposure to an opt-out nudge would increase vaccination rates and that participants would express more acceptability and a higher feeling of autonomy when exposed to the nudge. It was also expected that the feeling of autonomy would be positively correlated with nudge acceptability and with nudge effectiveness. The study's subjects were 260 medical residents. At the end of the study, 5% of residents in the nudge group reported they had not been vaccinated versus 27% in the control group, suggesting that applying the nudge to all residents could have reduced the number of unvaccinated residents by 81%. Residents found the nudge very acceptable, especially when they had been exposed to it. Residents felt that the nudge did not reduce their autonomy. The feeling of autonomy was associated with the nudge's acceptability and effectiveness. These data suggest that nudging can complement other interventions promoting vaccination, but policymakers should consider its ethical implications.
. 2026 Jun 30:89:128894.
doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2026.128894. Online ahead of print.
Effectiveness and acceptability of an opt-out nudge to promote influenza vaccination among medical residents: A randomized controlled trial
Adriaan Barbaroux[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Ilaria Serati[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Isabelle Milhabet[SUP] 3 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 42378811
- DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2026.128894
Nudging has been proposed as an effective tool for promoting influenza vaccination among healthcare workers. To be successful, nudges must be considered acceptable. This paper evaluated the effectiveness and the acceptability of a nudge promoting influenza vaccination among medical residents in four hospitals in France. The hypotheses were that exposure to an opt-out nudge would increase vaccination rates and that participants would express more acceptability and a higher feeling of autonomy when exposed to the nudge. It was also expected that the feeling of autonomy would be positively correlated with nudge acceptability and with nudge effectiveness. The study's subjects were 260 medical residents. At the end of the study, 5% of residents in the nudge group reported they had not been vaccinated versus 27% in the control group, suggesting that applying the nudge to all residents could have reduced the number of unvaccinated residents by 81%. Residents found the nudge very acceptable, especially when they had been exposed to it. Residents felt that the nudge did not reduce their autonomy. The feeling of autonomy was associated with the nudge's acceptability and effectiveness. These data suggest that nudging can complement other interventions promoting vaccination, but policymakers should consider its ethical implications.