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 .
Efficacy of a savings-led microfinance intervention to reduce sexual risk for HIV among women engaged in sex work: a randomized clinical trial.
OBJECTIVES We tested whether a structural intervention combining savings-led microfinance and HIV prevention components would achieve enhanced reductions in sexual risk among women engaging in street-based sex work in Ulaanbaatar , Mongolia , compared with an HIV prevention intervention alone . METHODS Between November 2011 and August 2012 , we r and omized 107 eligible women who completed baseline assessment s to either a 4-session HIV sexual risk reduction intervention ( HIVSRR ) alone ( n=50 ) or a 34-session HIVSRR plus a savings-led microfinance intervention ( n=57 ) . At 3- and 6-month follow-up assessment s , participants reported unprotected acts of vaginal intercourse with paying partners and number of paying partners with whom they engaged in sexual intercourse in the previous 90 days . Using Poisson and zero-inflated Poisson model regressions , we examined the effects of assignment to treatment versus control condition on outcomes . RESULTS At 6-month follow-up , the HIVSRR plus microfinance participants reported significantly fewer paying sexual partners and were more likely to report zero unprotected vaginal sex acts with paying sexual partners . CONCLUSIONS Findings advance the HIV prevention repertoire for women , demonstrating that risk reduction may be achieved through a structural intervention that relies on asset building , including savings , and alternatives to income from sex work
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 .