Eden Brownell, director of behavioral science at MPulse Mobile, joins Melina Palmer on The Brainy Business podcast to discuss the application of behavioral science in healthcare delivery. The conversation, which was conducted live at Greenbook’s IIEX North America conference, delves into the use of behavioral interventions to drive behavior change in healthcare. Brownell shares two case studies that highlight the power of storytelling, social influence, and understanding user experience to improve patient engagement and outcomes.

From using videos to simulate the consequences of non-compliance to leveraging loss aversion, the episode demonstrates the effectiveness of behavioral design in healthcare. Brownell emphasizes the importance of addressing real barriers to behavior change and tailoring interventions to the specific needs and motivations of the target audience. Everyone interested in implementing evidence-based behavioral strategies to improve engagement and behavior change will find this episode insightful and practical (it’s not just for the healthcare industry).

Delve into the cutting-edge fusion of behavioral science and healthcare, and its role in optimizing patient results.
Learn about the intriguing complexities of healthcare compliance and the psychology behind procrastination and time discounting.
Be intrigued by real-world examples of how behavioral science can massively up the ante when it comes to adherence of medical tests.
Discover the transformative power of personalized interventions in enhancing health outcomes with the aid of technology.
Understand the synergy between behavioral science and healthcare as a pivotal solution to overcoming prevalent health barriers.

Show Notes:

00:00:00 - Introduction,
Melina Palmer introduces the podcast episode and welcomes Eden Brownell, the Director of Behavioral Science at MPulse Mobile. This episode is a replay of the live podcast interview conducted at Greenbook’s IIEX North America conference.

00:03:24 - Getting to Know Eden Brownell,
Eden shares her background and how she got into the field of behavioral science, drawing on her love for understanding human behavior and psychology.

00:06:35 - The Intersection of Theater and Behavioral Science,
Eden discusses how her background in theater research has influenced her love for research and understanding human behavior.

00:08:57 - The Challenges of Healthcare Compliance,
Melina and Eden explore the issue of compliance in healthcare and how behavioral science can help address it. They discuss the concept of present bias and its impact on healthcare decisions.

00:12:07 - Overcoming the Say-Do Gap,
The conversation dives into the say-do gap and the challenges of committing to future actions. Eden shares a case study on healthcare compliance and how behavioral science can be applied to improve outcomes.

00:15:26 - Overcoming Engagement Challenges,
Eden discusses the challenges of getting people to engage with colon test kits and the importance of getting their attention. They conducted an A/B test using behavioral science messaging to create a sense of ownership (leveraging loss aversion) and found a significant increase in engagement.

00:17:33 - The Endowment Effect and Psychological Barriers,
The endowment effect is discussed as a psychological factor that increases the value of something once it is owned. The guest explains how reframing the message to create a sense of ownership can overcome psychological barriers and increase the likelihood of engagement.

00:19:15 - Increasing Engagement with Colon Test Kits,
The results of the A/B test showed a 10-15% increase in engagement when using behavioral science messaging and the endowment effect. Eden discusses the importance of addressing barriers and lowering the perceived effort for members to complete the test.

00:20:44 - Next Steps: Completing the Colon Test Kits,
The next step is to focus on increasing completion rates for those who have opted in to receive the test kit. Eden discusses using AI and natural language processing to identify barriers and provide resources to overcome them.

00:26:22 - Using AI to Overcome Barriers,
AI is used to identify common barriers mentioned by members and provide targeted responses. Eden emphasizes the importance of allowing barriers to be uncovered and addressing them in real time to increase engagement.

00:30:13 - Encouraging Behavior Change,
Eden discusses the importance of using nudges and partitions to encourage people to opt in for important activities such as cancer screenings. She emphasizes the need to make the process simple and streamlined while highlighting the value of health care and preventing cancer.

00:31:29 - Successful Storytelling with Video,
Eden shares a passion project that involved using video to promote diabetic eye screening. By utilizing loss aversion and creating an emotional impact, the video successfully increased the click rates for scheduling eye exams by over 200%.

00:35:01 - Using Emotion and Storytelling,
Eden discusses the power of emotion and storytelling in driving behavior change. By creating videos that evoke strong emotions and resonate with the audience, it becomes easier to connect people to their future selves and encourage them to take action.

00:39:10 - Leveraging Self-Determination Theory,
Eden talks about the impact of self-determination theory and social proof in healthcare. By providing real-life experiences and engaging content, such as videos of moms sharing their concerns and experiences, it becomes easier to spark engagement and provide valuable information to individuals.

00:42:19 - Simplifying the Experience,
Eden emphasizes the importance of simplifying the experience for individuals. By reducing complexity and perceived effort, it becomes easier to encourage behavior change and make the overall experience more enjoyable and engaging. Examples include incorporating moments of sunshine and removing unnecessary friction.

00:45:50 - Boosting Engagement and Motivation,
The discussion focuses on using social aspects and storytelling to drive engagement and motivation in healthcare. By sharing stories and creating content that can be shared with friends and family, healthcare providers can have a bigger impact on the health and well-being of their members.

00:46:51 - Presenting Health Plans to Prioritize Health,
Health plans are often focused on making money, but there is an opportunity to push them to prioritize the healthcare of their members. By testing ideas like sharing messages and content that can be easily shared on social media, health plans can have a broader impact on the health of their members and their extended group.

00:47:33 - Messaging and Social Proof,
The conversation highlights the importance of messaging and social proof in healthcare. Simply stating statistics like "one in four women will get breast cancer" may not have the desired impact because people often think they won't be the one affected. Finding ways to effectively communicate and simplify these statistics using images and videos is crucial.

00:48:14 - Simplifying Healthcare Information,
The discussion emphasizes the need to simplify healthcare information, especially considering low literacy levels and health literacy levels. Using images, videos, and infographics can help bridge the literacy gap and make healthcare information more understandable and accessible.

00:49:16 - Conclusion,
Melina's top insights from the conversation. What stuck with you while listening to the episode? What are you going to try? Come share it with Melina on social media -- you'll find her as @thebrainybiz everywhere and as Melina Palmer on LinkedIn.

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Get the Books Mentioned on (or related to) this Episode:

Engaged, by Amy Bucher
Friction, by Roger Dooley
Behavioral Science in the Wild, by Dilip Soman and Nina Mazar
What Your Customer Wants and Can’t Tell You, by Melina Palmer
Designing for Behavior Change, by Stephen Wendel

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Top Recommended Next Episode: Engaged, with Amy Bucher (ep 164)

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317. Revolutionizing Healthcare: Behavioral Science Strategies for Improved Patient Outcomes with Eden Brownell

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