Girls Invest: A Mobile-Enabled Economic Empowerment Intervention for Girls to Reduce Risk for Partner Violence
Phase: EARLY_PHASE1
Conditions: Risk Factors for Intimate Partner Violence
Sponsor: San Diego State University

 
 
 
GIRLS INVEST 
Methods Protocol 
April 23, 2025 
 
 
CLINICAL TRIALS UNIQUE ID: NCT06942481 

METHODS      
 
This study involved a two-arm cluster randomized controlled trial among 258 adolescent females ages 15-
19 years in 16 secondary schools within low-income communities from two Local Government Areas 
(LGAs) with the highest concentration of low-income communities within Ibadan, Nigeria. Low-income 
communities were of particular focus considering the intersection of economic vulnerability and IPV 
risk1,2. Sixteen schools within low-income communities were selected from the 28 schools approved by 
the Ministry of Education; schools were randomized to treatment assignment (Girls Invest intervention or 
wait-list control group) using a randomizer software package after baseline data collection. The wait-list 
control groups were provided with referrals to local support organizations, as the standard of care, and 
received Girls Invest subsequent to the six-month follow-up data collection. The study protocol was 
approved by the Human Research Protection Program at San Diego State University (HS-2021-0031) in 
the US and the University of Ibadan / University College Hospital Joint Institutional Review Board, in 
Nigeria (UI/EC/21/0183). Letter of approval was obtained from the Oyo state Ministry of Education, 
Nigeria and permission obtained from the Principals of each school.   
 
Intervention Description 
  
The Girls Invest intervention involved: 1) app-based trainings on topics related to financial literacy, 
gender equity, and health and 2) financial resources/incentives supporting girls’ education/career.   
 
Girls Invest trainings promote financial literacy and aim to raise girls’ critical consciousness related to 
gender-based economic and social constraints that promote IPV (e.g., economic constraints that promote 
financial dependence on male partners, social norms that support IPV). Girls Invest app trainings 
encouraged girls to reflect on traditional gender norms that disfavor girls’ future trajectories. Trainings 
supported gender equitable beliefs and attitudes that promote girls’ educational/economic endeavors, 
health and well-being, and power or control within their families and relationships. In order to complete 
each module and advance to the next level, girls needed to perform satisfactorily on topic quizzes. App 
content was interactive and included real life scenarios to maximize girls’ engagement. Additionally, to 
further support engagement and maintain girls’ interest and attention, each training was designed to take 
approximately 20-25 minutes for girls to complete. Participants were provided access to a smartphone to 
complete the app training modules. The smartphones were kept with the research team and girls could use 
them after school. To reinforce learning, a booklet containing the content of the app training was given to 
each girl after completion of the mobile app learning. App training module topics included:   
 
1. Gender roles and goal setting covers what gender roles are and how they affect girls’ education, 
career, body image, power in family and relationship decision-making, property rights, and rights 
over their bodies, including harmful traditional practices. Trainings emphasize the ways in which 
gender-based discrimination influences girls’ health, development, and future trajectories.   
2. Sexual and reproductive health and rights promotes investing in a “healthy future,” covering 
information on menstruation, sexual health, abstinence, sexual consent, negotiating condom use, 
sexual risk behaviors for unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, information on 
family planning methods, girls’ sexual and reproductive decision-making power, and reproductive 
coercion (e.g. male partners’ coercing girls to get pregnant or sabotaging girls’ intentions to use 
family planning).  
3. Money, power, and relationships discusses the subtle ways in which economic reliance on male 
partners can decrease girls’ decision-making in relationships and increase risk for IPV. This module 
covers healthy and unhealthy relationships, including warning signs for IPV. Topics on IPV also 
include how to identify it, resources to get help, how to support peers experiencing IPV, and the 
effects across all aspects of girls’ lives. This module uses story-based curricula to improve awareness 
and early detection of IPV. It also covers the consequences of IPV, such as effects on mental health 

and substance use. 
4. Financial literacy basics contains information on money management, savings, thrift, accounting, 
interest, budgeting, loans, investing, financial security and independence. This knowledge is key to 
supporting young women to be economically self-sufficient thereby, reducing girls’ vulnerability to 
IPV, including leaving abusive relationships.43  
5. Future aspirations covers preparation for apprenticeships, getting a job, going for higher education, 
deciding on a future career, and other relevant topic areas to support girls’ future financial and 
entrepreneurial goals. This module provides vignettes from diverse women doing different types of 
jobs/businesses.  
 
Financial resources provided to girls included paying for examination fees schools required for girls to 
continue / further their education or purchasing an item to support apprenticeship such as a sewing 
machine, baking oven and pans, or hair dryers (equivalent to N65,000, approximately 100USD). These 
financial resources were identified by girls participating in the intervention and were chosen over cash 
transfers to better ensure that participants had ownership of the resource/incentive (i.e., rather than cash 
transfers that could be used by the family and not fully directed at the needs of girls).    
 
 
Recruitment  
  
The school authorities were visited by research team to inform them about the study process. Each school 
provided a focal person (class teacher), who worked with the research team to coordinate recruitment. 
Trained research staff, with the assistance of the focal person visited each class to explain the study and 
the Girls Invest intervention. Girls in senior secondary classes one and two (years 10 and 11) in each of 
the 16 schools and who were between the ages of 15-19 years were offered to participate in the study. 
Those interested in participating signed the consent form; those who were under 18 years old had parents 
sign a consent form as well. Parents were invited to the schools and informed about the study process.   
 
Sampling of the participants, including the numbers approached, as well as those eligible (those ages 15-
19) and interested is illustrated in Figure 1.  Those approached but not eligible were due to them being 
under age 15.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 Figure 1. Consort Diagram 
 
 
 
 
 
Data Collection Procedures  
 
Data collected for this study were drawn from process evaluation program monitoring data, participant 
surveys, and focus group discussions. All participant data were collected between September 2023 and 
July 2024.  
 
Process evaluation monitoring data were used to report completion rates of the app-based trainings. Data 
were collected via the app to describe whether participants completed all trainings, and for those with 
partial completion, how many of the five trainings participants completed. Program monitoring data 
included app generated data on how long participants spent on each training. Program monitoring data 
also documented the provision of the economic incentives based on app-training completion. 
  
Surveys were conducted with all participants at baseline and at a six-month follow-up timepoint. The 
survey collected data on girls’ experiences of IPV, gender-based attitudes, and perceptions of economic 
vulnerability as well as demographic characteristics. Research staff administered the survey in a one-on-
one private setting. The survey took about 45 minutes to complete; participants received N4,000 for the 
baseline survey and N6,000 for the follow-up survey as compensation for their time. The follow up rate 
was 69% among intervention and control groups, with no significant difference in follow-up by treatment 
group (p=0.72).  
 
Focus group participants (n=62; approximately 12-13 participants in each of 5 focus groups) were drawn 
from study participants who had completed the Girls Invest intervention. Participation was voluntary and 
demographics matched those of the larger sample. After completing the six-month follow-up survey, 
participants who voiced interest in participating in the focus groups were contacted to schedule the focus 
group. Trained and experienced facilitators conducted informed consent among all focus group 

participants and subsequently conducted the focus group, which lasted about 60-90 minutes and took 
place in a private room. Participant satisfaction and acceptance of the intervention were assessed, as well 
as how app-based trainings impacted participants’ knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs regarding Girls Invest 
topics. Participants were reimbursed N6,000 upon completion of the focus group discussions. Focus 
group discussions were digitally recorded, transcribed, and de-identified.  
 
 
Measures 
 
Program monitoring data were automatically downloaded from the app, generating a spreadsheet 
providing information on module completion, including the time spent on each module. Additional 
process data were recorded by research staff regarding the provision of the financial incentives upon app-
based training completion, including the type of financial incentive received.  
Survey measures included sample characteristics as well as gender attitudes and economic factors 
associated with IPV.  
Sample Characteristics: Survey measures included the following sample characteristics: age, 
ethnicity (Yoruba, Ibo, Hausa, Other), religion (Christianity, Islam, Other), relationship status (currently 
in a relationship, have ever has a relationship but not currently, never had a relationship), employment 
(yes/no), apprenticeship training (yes/no), and living situation (living with parents, other family, or 
others).  
Attitudes supportive of traditional gender roles were measured by seven items assessing male and 
female roles in the following: decision-making (e.g., when to have sex, household purchases), household 
chores, childcare, reproductive decisions (including pregnancy prevention), and in receiving 
education/training. Responses involved 5-point Likert scales ranging from strongly agree to strongly 
disagree. Summary scores were calculated for the three items, with a Cronbach alpha of 0.60, indicating 
adequate internal consistency.     
Attitudes supportive of IPV were measured using 7 validated items adapted from Demographic 
Health Surveys asking whether any of the following scenarios a husband has good reason to hit his wife: 
(1) She does not complete housework to his satisfaction, (2) She disobeys him, (3) She refuses to have 
sexual relations with him, (4) She asks him whether he has other girlfriends, (5) He finds out she has been 
unfaithful, (6) She goes out without telling him, or (7) She does not prepare a meal to his satisfaction. 
Responses involved 5-point Likert scales ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Summary 
scores were calculated for the three items, with a Cronbach alpha of 0.89, indicating high internal 
consistency.     
Coping with experiences of gender-based discrimination included three items assessing perceived 
ability to identify instances of “gender-based discrimination against me” and coping with such 
experiences as being able to “take care of myself,” and recognizing that such experiences are not “about 
anything I did as an individual”. Responses involved 5-point Likert scales ranging from strongly agree to 
strongly disagree. Summary scores were calculated for the three items, with a Cronbach alpha of 0.65, 
indicating adequate internal consistency.    
Perceptions of economic vulnerability were assessed using eight items asking about perceived 
household economic situation, including having enough money to purchase basic necessities (e.g., food, 
clothes, other needs) and money to pay for education/training of the participant. Items also assessed 
perceived financial stress of the household.  Responses involved 5-point Likert scales ranging from 
strongly agree to strongly disagree. Summary scores were calculated for the three items, with a Cronbach 
alpha of 0.60, indicating fair internal consistency.     

Focus group guides were developed to 1) provide feedback on the intervention, including the app-based 
platform and financial incentives provided and 2) to understand the impact of participating in Girls Invest. 
Specifically, participants were asked to describe their opinions about the use of an app as a model of 
intervention delivery, as well as their satisfaction with the app training curriculum and financial 
incentives. The focus groups also addressed how each training topic had impacted the participants’ 
knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs regarding economic and gender related factors that promote IPV (e.g., 
economic vulnerability, gender norms that support IPV). 
 
 
Data Analysis 
  
Quantitative survey data were used to describe the sample characteristics, and combined with program 
monitoring data to assess the proportion of participants completing the app-based trainings, how long 
participants spent on each training, and whether they received financial incentives based on app training 
completion, as well as what type of financial incentive they received. 
 
A difference-in-differences approach was used to assess changes between baseline and follow-up in: 1) 
attitudes supportive of traditional gender roles, 2) attitudes supportive of IPV, 3) coping with experiences 
of gender-based discrimination, and 4) perceptions of economic vulnerability. The primary analysis was 
conducted using a linear regression model with cluster-adjusted standard errors to account for intra-
cluster correlation. The model included an interaction term between time (pre/post) and study arm 
(intervention/control) to estimate changes over time associated with the intervention. Given that there 
were no statistically significant differences in demographic factors at baseline between the intervention 
and control groups (indicating effective randomization of treatment group assignment), we did not include 
covariates in the models. Analyses used an intention-to-treat (ITT) approach, with sensitivity analyses 
conducted to assess robustness to missing data and alternative model specifications. All analyses were 
performed using SAS v9.4. 
For analyzing the focus group data, an inductive, content analysis approach was used. Content analysis 
involves generating and applying codes to sections of text, then reviewing the text by various codes and 
‘code families’ to identify recurring themes. The coding team created an initial list of codes based on key 
domains and used these to code discussions. To enhance coding agreement, data were individually coded 
by two researchers, and coding procedures and definitions were discussed and compared for agreement. 
Additions of new codes or changes in code definitions were determined via consensus among the research 
team. Additional codes related to participants sharing information they learned in the app trainings were 
created to reflect these emerging themes. No new codes emerged after two-thirds of the focus groups 
were coded, suggesting that content saturation was achieved. For this particular analysis, we retrieved 
coded text on themes related to acceptability with the program as well as economic and social impacts. 
Inter-coder reliability was assessed, with 80% coder consistency or higher between coders deemed 
sufficient for inter-coder reliability.