Behavioral economics and preferences

Many interventions to improve public health require behavior change, whether from patients, providers, or others. Similarly, interventions that address patient and/or provider preferences for the delivery of care have a better chance of succeeding. We are using the tools of behavioral economics to understand preferences and change behaviors related to HIV and other public health concerns.

Publications and Documents

Designing AI-powered healthcare assistants to effectively reach vulnerable populations with health care services: A discrete choice experiment among South African university students. medRxiv, 2025.01. 30.25321409

Designing Artificial Intelligence-Powered Health Care Assistants to Reach Vulnerable Populations: A Discrete Choice Experiment Among South African University Students, Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Digital Health 3 (3), 100248.

Behaviourally-informed two-way text messaging to improve return to HIV care in South Africa: evidence from a randomised controlled trial, AIDS and Behavior 29 (11), 3661-3672.

Govender K, Girdwood S, Letswalo D, Long L, Meyer-Rath G, Miot J. Primary healthcare seeking behaviour of low-income patients across the public and private health sectors in South Africa. BMC Public Health 2021; 21:1649.

Govathson C, Long L, Moolla A. et al. Understanding school-going adolescent’s preferences for accessing HIV and contraceptive care: findings from a discrete choice experiment among learners in Gauteng, South AfricaBMC Health Serv Res 23, 1378 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-023-10414-w