A Systematic Review of Applications of Behavioral Economics in the Health Sector

DOI

10.2991/aebmr.k.220307.189How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Food choice; Behavioral economics; Nudge interventions; Medicine use

Abstract

People often make poor decisions when it comes to their health, such as choosing high-calorie food choices, taking medicines in the wrong way, and delaying treatment when they have a disease. Since traditional economic theory assumes that people make decisions based on a rational process, behavioral economics argues that humans can make imperfect decisions. This paper provides a more detailed framework for understanding and influencing behavior. This paper uses a combination of comparative literature analysis and case analysis to provide a background overview for future research by comparing and contrasting articles on the same topic, especially on food choice, medicine use, and treatment process. Several successful cases of testing the effectiveness of behavioral-based nudge interventions are presented. It also summarizes the common limitations in the research studying this topic. This study revealed that most studies investigating food choices show that interventions can effectively change people’s decisions to choose healthier foods. Regarding medication use, although some articles indicate that the available interventions to improve the quality of antimicrobial prescriptions are not as effective, others demonstrate the potency of different interventions to limit unnecessary use or overdoses. It is beneficial to consider social norms when designing interventions.

Copyright

© 2022 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press International B.V.

Open Access

This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Yuqing Wu
PY  - 2022
DA  - 2022/03/26
TI  - A Systematic Review of Applications of Behavioral Economics in the Health Sector
BT  - Proceedings of the 2022 7th International Conference on Financial Innovation and Economic Development (ICFIED 2022)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 1141
EP  - 1145
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/aebmr.k.220307.189
DO  - 10.2991/aebmr.k.220307.189
ID  - Wu2022
ER  -