Study: ʺPoverty, Gender Inequities, and Sexual/Reproductive Health: An Impact Evaluation of a Combined Economic and Psycho-social Intervention in Southern Tanzaniaʺ
PI(s): Will Dow
Affiliation(s): UC Berkeley
Institutional Partner(s):
Project Dates:
Start: 2008
End: 2011
Data Source(s): Panel (Data Collection)
Methods: Randomized Controlled Trial
Geographic Location(s): Tanzania

Description:
This project designed, implemented, and evaluated a combined economic and psycho-social intervention on individual/household economic outcomes and sexual/reproductive health outcomes among young people ages 18-30 in a rural area of southern Tanzania. The one-year intervention to reduce risky sexual behaviors was implemented as an individual-level randomized trial. The intervention offered the treatment group a cash reward (similar to conditional cash transfer programs elsewhere) at 4, 8, and 12 months if the individual tested STI negative at that contact. This treatment intervention both provided new incentives to reduce risky sexual behaviors and provided cash that could directly enhance economic well-being in this marginalized population. At the end of the 12-month period, the adjusted results reflected a significant reduction in prevalence of the four STIs among the high cash transfer group. The authors conclude that these results show the potential for financial incentives as a useful tool in preventing HIV and STI transmission. Although the study population is generally representative of rural and small-town environments in sub-Saharan Africa, the authors acknowledge that it needs to be replicated elsewhere and in a larger population before concluding that such a program is a worthwhile HIV-prevention strategy.

Research Outputs:

De Walque, Damien, Dow, William & Gong, Erick. (2014). Coping with Risk: The Effects of Shocks on Reproductive Health and Transactional Sex in Rural Tanzania (World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 6751).

De Walque, Damien, Dow, William & Nathan, Rose. (2014). Rewarding Safer Sex: Conditional Cash Transfers for HIV/STI Prevention (World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 7099).

De Walque, Damien, Dow, William H., Nathan, Rose, Abdul, Ramadhani, Abilahi, Faraji, Gong, Erick, Isdahl, Zachary, Jamison, Julian & Jullu, Boniphace. (2012). Incentivising safe sex: a randomised trial of conditional cash transfers for HIV and sexually transmitted infection prevention in rural Tanzania. BMJ Open, 2(1), 1-10. DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2011-000747

Krishnan, Suneeta et al. (2012). Tanzanian Couples’ Perspectives on Gender Equity, Relationship Power, and Intimate Partner Violence: Findings from the RESPECT Study. AIDS Research and Treatment, 2012(187890). DOI: 10.1155/2012/187890