In 2017, Richard Thaler, PhD, an economist from the University of Chicago, won the Nobel Prize for Economic Science for his work in behavioral economics. His research challenged traditional economic theory, which assumes that individuals accurately weigh costs and benefits when making financial decisions. Contrasted with this idea, behavioral economics describes evidence that judgement errors are common and systematic, and that people tend to choose options with the most immediate appeal at the cost of long-term benefits. Thaler’s book explains that people need a nudge to make financial decisions that are in their own best interests. Individuals also make choices about their own health that are not in their best interests long term. For example, many impairments that require orthotic or prosthetic intervention can be linked to chronic conditions caused or influenced by lifestyle choices. Understanding how people make healthcare decisions and how to influence them to make good ones will make us more effective as O&P practitioners.
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