Information Greenhouse: Optimal Persuasion for Medical Test-Avoiders

Patients often delay or reject medical tests due to information avoidance, which hinders timely reception of necessary treatments. This paper studies the optimal information policy to persuade an information-avoidant patient to undergo the test and make the best choice that maximizes his health. The patient sequentially decides whether to take the test and the optimal treatment plan. The information provided is about the background knowledge of the disease, and disclosure can take place both before and after the test decision. The optimal information policy depends on whether the patient is willing to be tested when he is completely pessimistic. If so, the optimal policy features warning-in-advance: the disclosure only takes place before the test, and the bad news guarantees the patient to be tested and be treated even without further information. If not, the optimal policy constructs an information greenhouse: an information structure that provides high anticipatory utility is committed when the patient is tested and the test result is bad. Extensions to ex ante participation constraint and general information preference are also considered.