{"id":117519,"date":"2021-07-09T18:43:14","date_gmt":"2021-07-09T13:13:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=117519"},"modified":"2021-07-09T18:43:14","modified_gmt":"2021-07-09T13:13:14","slug":"ideas-drawn-from-nudge-theory-could-weaken-a-third-covid-wave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/ideas-drawn-from-nudge-theory-could-weaken-a-third-covid-wave\/","title":{"rendered":"Ideas drawn from nudge theory could weaken a third covid wave"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Source<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: <a href=\"https:\/\/epaper.livemint.com\/Home\/ShareArticle?OrgId=9788704398&amp;imageview=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Live mint<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Relevance:<\/strong> This article highlights the importance and effectiveness of <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">behavioral interventions to bring about social change.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><b>Synopsis<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Well-designed behavioral interventions that guide people to make safe choices could potentially help India in the fight against pandemic. The use of nudge theory will help in combating vaccine hesitancy and lockdown fatigue. Thereby it will ensure greater vaccination and Covid appropriate behavior in the country.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><b>Background<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India is <\/span><b>augmenting the availability of medical supplies and healthcare infrastructure across the country <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in order to combat the 3rd wave of Covid 19.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But the experience of other countries (Italy in April 2020, the UK in January 2021) shows that virus can cripple even the most well-equipped health systems. Once a wave emerges, it can quickly spiral into chaos.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Therefore, initiatives to bolster India\u2019s healthcare infrastructure must be accompanied by actions to reduce the intensity of the wave itself.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><b>Reducing the intensity of waves<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India should focus on two key actions &#8211; <strong>administering vaccines and enforcing covid appropriate behavior<\/strong> until a substantial share of the population has been inoculated.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, two obstacles will hinder the actions: <strong>Vaccine hesitancy and lockdown fatigue.<\/strong> Across the world, these two remain especially wicked problems\u2014hard to break down, harder yet to solve.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nonetheless, these hindrances can be tackled using behavioral economics\u2014specifically, the nudge theory.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><b>About Nudge Theory<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nudges are subtle interventions that help people make better decisions without restricting their choices.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>For instance<\/strong>, the UK moved from a sign-up to an opt-out process for pension accounts in 2012. This simple change-induced more than 10 million people in the country to save for their retirement.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nudge units are entities that work with governments to apply behavioral science to public policy. They help in formulation of effective nudging strategies as every detail counts: Text, visuals, colours, font size, placement, and communication channel.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Visuals<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: McKinsey\u2019s research indicates that images of non-smokers playing with their grandchildren on cigarette packs can deter smokers more effectively than images of damaged lungs.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nudges can be dramatically<\/span><b> cost-effective<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. For instance, Virgin Atlantic famously spent only about $2,500 on a nudging intervention that helped it save $5.5 million in airline fuel costs over 8 months in 2014.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To be successful, nudges must effectively <\/span><b>speak to the cultural and socioeconomic realities <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of their target audience.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many countries have used them both before and during the pandemic to drive behavioural change at scale.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Use of Nudge Theory in tackling the Pandemic<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Last year\u2019s<\/span><b> \u2018Happy Birthday\u2019 sing-along nudge <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">helped millions wash their hands long enough to make them virus-free.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Similarly, many nudge units are now running studies to discover which nudges might help overcome vaccine hesitancy.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A recent study in Colombia by the UK\u2019s nudge unit indicated the potential to increase vaccination numbers by 2.4 million or nearly 5% of that country\u2019s population.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For this, <\/span><b>messages should be sent to people that countered their concerns<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> about vaccine safety or appealed to their deep psychological needs.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>How to use Nudge theory in India for tackling the Pandemic<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">?<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The project should be anchored by an<\/span><b> independent team of experts <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">convened by the center. This includes behavioural economists, neuroscientists, design thinking experts, researchers, digital marketers, etc.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Considering time will be of the essence, this <\/span><b>team will need to be agile<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It should add new capabilities and partners as it progresses.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Further, it should adhere to a <\/span><b>sprint approach<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: rapidly prototyping, testing, refining and then deploying the most promising solutions.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Given its scale, the effort would need all hands on deck.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Telecom and e-commerce companies could provide a platform <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to directly connect with large sections of the population;\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Large media spenders could amplify messages;\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Social-sector organizations<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> could work on grassroots activation;\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Influencers could power viral social media outreach;\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India Inc could provide the required tech infrastructure.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If successful, this effort could sow the seeds for <\/span><b>the creation of India\u2019s own nudge uni<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">t. In the long term, this unit could recommend and implement interventions to solve many complicated developmental challenges faced by our nation.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Source: Live mint\u00a0 Relevance: This article highlights the importance and effectiveness of behavioral interventions to bring about social change. Synopsis: Well-designed behavioral interventions that guide people to make safe choices could potentially help India in the fight against pandemic. The use of nudge theory will help in combating vaccine hesitancy and lockdown fatigue. Thereby it&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/ideas-drawn-from-nudge-theory-could-weaken-a-third-covid-wave\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Ideas drawn from nudge theory could weaken a third covid wave<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10322,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1704785455},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10322"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117519"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117519\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}