CHIBE Annual Report 2023–2024

Letter from CHIBE Director Kevin Volpp

CHIBE has seen incredible growth in our family of programs that use behavioral economics insights to tackle areas such as end-of-life care, cardiovascular health, cancer outcomes, food policy and nutrition, global health, economic opportunity, equity, health care analytics, pharmaceutical cost sharing, and more. We are fortunate to be able to contribute to the development of a strong group of complementary programs that is arguably unique among universities in the United States.

I am excited to share that the National Institute on Aging has renewed CHIBE’s “Roybal Center” for the next 5 years, providing funding to continue to advance the translation of behavioral economics concepts to improve health. We will conduct cutting edge research, taking results to scale, and will focus in particular on how to avoid the “voltage drop” described by our University of Chicago colleague John List, whereby promising ideas lose efficacy as they move from small-scale pilots to large-scale interventions. We have adopted a few strategies for avoiding voltage drops including:

1. Being intentional in the creation of research partnerships with organizations that have shared interests and the capability to test ideas in ways that mimic scaled implementation;
2. Doing a combination of tests of efficacy among those who choose to participate in trials and effectiveness among all to whom a program is offered with a focus on both efficacy and program engagement;
3. Being as transparent as possible in terms of methodological rigor, methods, and data to ensure successful replication.

Our center will focus on creating and sustaining a robust ecosystem for behavioral science and health research at Penn and beyond and will also lead national and global efforts on the application of behavioral science. We are also moving into new areas such as the testing of dynamic adaptation using artificial intelligence in partnership with the Wharton Health Care Analytics Lab, while our faculty affiliates continue to forge new ground in a variety of areas of great importance to population health.

I have also continued to serve as the Scientific Director for the American Heart Association’s Health Care by Food initiative, a landmark effort to build evidence on what type of Food is Medicine interventions are effective and cost effective in improving health. We have made great progress this year, standing up task forces with dozens of national experts that have provided guidance on common measures, data infrastructure, policy evaluation, and field-based infrastructure. More than $8 million of support has been provided to launch 20 pilot randomized trials, and more than 20 CHIBE affiliates are involved in either project teams or task forces. I am proud of our contributions to this important national effort.

I want to thank our departing external advisory board members Rebekah Gee, Mark Smith, and Karen DeSalvo for their outstanding service while welcoming aboard Amir Dan Rubin, Jim Karkanias, and Avik Roy. I am sad to note the passing of long-time board member Gail Wilensky who served on our board for 13 years including as Vice Chair. She will be greatly missed.

We also extend our thanks to Hoag Levins and Eric Sucar for their photos contained in this report.

Kevin Volpp, MD, PhD
Director, CHIBE
Mark V. Pauly President’s Distinguished Professor
Perelman School of Medicine and the Wharton School
University of Pennsylvania