The Internet is gaining relevance as a platform where extremist organizations seek to recruit new members. For this preregistered study, we developed and tested a novel online game, Radicalise, which aims to combat the effectiveness of online recruitment strategies used by extremist organizations, based on the principles of active psychological inoculation. The game “inoculates” players by exposing them to severely weakened doses of the key techniques and methods used to recruit and radicalize individuals via social media platforms: identifying vulnerable individuals, gaining their trust, isolating them from their community and pressuring them into committing a criminal act in the name of the extremist organization. To test the game's effectiveness, we conducted a preregistered 2 × 2 mixed (pre–post) randomized controlled experiment (n = 291) with two outcome measures. The first measured participants’ ability and confidence in assessing the manipulativeness of fictitious WhatsApp messages making use of an extremist manipulation technique before and after playing. The second measured participants’ ability to identify what factors make an individual vulnerable to extremist recruitment using 10 profile vignettes, also before and after playing. We find that playing Radicalise significantly improves participants’ ability and confidence in spotting manipulative messages and the characteristics associated with vulnerability.

In a large study that involved 2637 participants recruited from a representative UK and US sample, we tested the influence of four behavioural interventions (versus control) on a range of behaviours important for reducing the spread of COVID-19 a day after the interventions were administered. Even if people largely complied with social distancing measures, our analyses showed that for certain subgroups of the population the interventions made a positive difference. More specifically, for those who started practising social distancing relatively recently, an information-based intervention increased general compliance with social distancing and reduced both the number of times people went out and the number of hours they spent outside. However, for people who started practising social distancing relatively early, the interventions tended to backfire and, in some cases, reduced compliance with social distancing. Overall, this research has various policy implications and shows that, although behavioural interventions can positively impact compliance with social distancing, their effect may depend on personal circumstances.

With the coronavirus outbreak, new and strengthened norms of plastic dependency emerged in the Middle East and North Africa region through the desperate demand for products like face masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE), highlighting the tradeoffs between health and the environment. While the rise in demand has been considered as temporary, behavioral barriers and misperceptions might make these norms particularly sticky and hinder society's ability to transition to a circular economy. Fortunately, behavioral science offers valuable insights about why the current pandemic can actually be a catalyst to create new eco-conscious behaviors. As some behaviors are often strenuous to change and require enforcement through traditional policy solutions (e.g. regulations), behavioral science offers complementary tools that will make policies more effective. We have an opportunity to start thinking about ways to leverage behavioral insights to create new norms that promote a circular economy while ultimately ensuring proper adherence to hygiene practices to curb the spread of the virus.

Aims of the study The current study evaluates the effectiveness of an opportunistic mobile screening on the percentage of people who are aware of whether they may be hypertensive (in an observational study) and the effectiveness of reminder prompts on the percentage of people who seek further medical attention (in a randomised controlled trial). Methods used to conduct the study The screening of 1227 participants (529 female) was conducted during the registration period of the 2018 Beirut International Marathon in Lebanon. Next, 266 participants whose screening indicated hypertension (64 Female) were randomly allocated to a treatment group or a control group in a 1:1 fashion. The treatment group received a reminder prompt to seek further medical attention for their potential hypertension and the control group did not. The overt nature of the text message meant that participants in the treatment group could not be blinded to their group allocation. The primary outcome is participants’ self‐reports of whether they sought further medical attention. Results of the study For the opportunistic screening, a 25% prevalence rate and a 24% awareness rate of hypertension was indicated. A McNemar analysis suggested that the screening increased participant awareness (X2(N = 1227) = 72.16, P < .001). For the randomised controlled trial, 219 participants provided follow‐up data via a phone call (82% retention). A Chi‐squared analysis suggested that the reminder prompt successfully encouraged more participants to seek further medical attention, 45.5% treatment group vs 28.0% control group (X2(1, N = 219) = 7.19, P = .007, φ = 0.18). Conclusions drawn and clinical implications Extra support in the form of a brief reminder message can increase the percentage of people who seek further medical attention after attending an opportunistic screening at a marathon event. The discussion reviews how the results align with previous research, strengths and limitations of the current study, and implications for future research and practice.

Objective: In 2015, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health launched the 2015–2020 National Mental Health Strategy in an effort to integrate Mental Health into Primary Healthcare centers. One of the key objectives of the strategy was to increase the detection, assessment, and management of mental disorders including depression. In addition to diagnosis and patient education, a successful management of depression requires that patients systematically follow-up with their healthcare provider to ensure that they are on the optimal path to recovery. This study evaluates the impact of a visual self-assessment card to increase patients’ attendance to a follow-up appointment with their healthcare provider. Methods: A clustered randomized controlled trial was implemented at a Primary Healthcare center located in South Lebanon. The final sample consisted of 405 patients (209 treated and 196 untreated patients) who were diagnosed with mild-to-severe depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9 > 4). Patients were asked to attend a follow-up appointment with their health provider 2–3 weeks following the initial assessment. Treated patients were provided with a visual self-assessment card that tracked their daily mood changes and reminded them of their follow-up appointment. Results: Overall, the results provide evidence supporting the use of the self-assessment card to remind mental health patients of their follow-up appointments. Patients who received the card were 9 percentage points more likely to attend their follow-up appointment ( p = 0.05), with new patients (vs existing patients) exhibiting a 15 percentage points increase ( p < 0.05). Conclusion: Efforts focused on increasing compliance with follow-up appointments should be at the cornerstone of mental health integration approaches. Not only do our findings suggest a great potential for cost-effective interventions but also highlight new avenues to optimize on the use of reminders to promote compliance.