Results Most interventions combined microfinance with health education , which demonstrated positive effects on health knowledge and behaviours , though not health status .
Interventions combining multiple health components in a given study demonstrated positive effects , though it was unclear which component was driving the effect .
Discussion Integrated microfinance and health education programs were effective , though longer intervention periods are necessary to measure more complex pathways to health status .
The effect of microfinance combined with other health components was less clear .
Background Solutions delivered within firm sectoral boundaries are inadequate in achieving income security and better health for poor population s.  Integrated microfinance and health interventions leverage networks of women to promote financial inclusion , build livelihoods , and safeguard against high cost illnesses .
Our underst and ing of the effect of integrated interventions has been limited by variability in intervention , outcome , design , and method ological rigour .
This systematic review synthesis es the literature through 2015 to underst and the effect of  integrated microfinance and health programs .
Effect of a structural intervention for the prevention of intimate-partner violence and HIV in rural South Africa: a cluster randomised trial
BACKGROUND HIV infection and intimate-partner violence share a common risk environment in much of southern Africa . The aim of the Intervention with Microfinance for AIDS and Gender Equity ( IMAGE ) study was to assess a structural intervention that combined a microfinance programme with a gender and HIV training curriculum . METHODS Villages in the rural Limpopo province of South Africa were pair-matched and r and omly allocated to receive the intervention at study onset ( intervention group , n=4 ) or 3 years later ( comparison group , n=4 ) . Loans were provided to poor women who enrolled in the intervention group . A participatory learning and action curriculum was integrated into loan meetings , which took place every 2 weeks . Both arms of the trial were divided into three groups :  direct programme participants or matched controls ( cohort one ) , r and omly selected 14 - 35-year-old household co-residents ( cohort two ) , and r and omly selected community members ( cohort three ) . Primary outcomes were experience of intimate-partner violence -- either physical or sexual -- in the past 12 months by a spouse or other sexual intimate ( cohort one ) , unprotected sexual intercourse at last occurrence with a non-spousal partner in the past 12 months ( cohorts two and three ) , and HIV incidence ( cohort three ) . Analyses were done on a per- protocol basis . This trial is registered with Clinical Trials.gov , number NCT00242957 . FINDINGS In cohort one , experience of intimate-partner violence was reduced by 55 % ( adjusted risk ratio [ aRR ] 0.45 , 95 % CI 0.23 - 0.91 ; adjusted risk difference -7.3 % , -16.2 to 1.5 ) . The intervention did not affect the rate of unprotected sexual intercourse with a non-spousal partner in cohort two ( aRR 1.02 , 0.85 - 1.23 ) , and there was no effect on the rate of unprotected sexual intercourse at last occurrence with a non-spousal partner ( 0.89 , 0.66 - 1.19 ) or HIV incidence ( 1.06 , 0.66 - 1.69 ) in cohort three . INTERPRETATION A combined microfinance and training intervention can lead to reductions in levels of intimate-partner violence in programme participants . Social and economic development interventions have the potential to alter risk environments for HIV and intimate-partner violence in southern Africa
Results Most interventions combined microfinance with health education , which demonstrated positive effects on health knowledge and behaviours , though not health status .
Interventions combining multiple health components in a given study demonstrated positive effects , though it was unclear which component was driving the effect .
Discussion Integrated microfinance and health education programs were effective , though longer intervention periods are necessary to measure more complex pathways to health status .
The effect of microfinance combined with other health components was less clear .
Background Solutions delivered within firm sectoral boundaries are inadequate in achieving income security and better health for poor population s.  Integrated microfinance and health interventions leverage networks of women to promote financial inclusion , build livelihoods , and safeguard against high cost illnesses .
Our underst and ing of the effect of integrated interventions has been limited by variability in intervention , outcome , design , and method ological rigour .
This systematic review synthesis es the literature through 2015 to underst and the effect of  integrated microfinance and health programs .