Clinical trial NCT03455257: Evaluation of a Cash Transfer Program in Low-Income Families in Guinea-Bissau
Official title: Evaluation of a Cash Transfer Program in Low-Income Families in Guinea-Bissau
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: UNKNOWN
Phase: NA
Conditions: Per Capita Food Consumption Expenditure
Childhood Growth
Childhood Cognition
Anemia
School Registration and Attendence
Diabetes
Lead sponsor: Ministry of Finance, Guinea-Bissau
Sponsor class: OTHER_GOV
Collaborators: name: International Partnership for Human Development (IPHD)
name: National Institute of Statistics (INE)
name: World Bank
First posted: 2018-03-06
Enrollment: 34148
Sex: ALL
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: Participating families are randomized into one of two groups, an assessment-only controls group or a cash transfer group.
Primary purpose: OTHER

Brief summary: This pilot study will test the effect of a cash transfer program aiming to improve family food consumption patterns, family health and schooling, with resulting benefits for childhood growth and cognition.

Detailed description: Cash transfer (CT) programs in low-income countries that allow recipients to receive cash designated for specific household expenditures such as food and family health and education typically show significant program benefits. In particular, several programs have shown positive impacts on use of health care resources, nutrition status and self-reported health, along with significant improvements in the motor and cognitive development of young children.

Guinea-Bissau is currently the 11th poorest country and is thus an appropriate target for a cash transfer program. This project will pilot test the effect of a 2 year cash transfer program aiming to improve family food consumption patterns, family health and schooling, with resulting benefits for childhood growth and cognition. Family-wide assessment will be conducted to examine the impact in all family members. Baseline and 3 follow up assessments will be completed.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Families (defined as groups of individuals who routinely eat together) in 3 regions of Guinea-Bissau.
* Identified by developing scale based upon household characteristics and assets per capita. As well as access to services such as water, electricity and sanitation.
* Families having the lowest score identified as lowest income were recruited.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Families with high scores on asset scale.
* Families uninterested in participating.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Change in per capita food expeditures
timeFrame: Baseline, year 1, year 2 and year 3
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Changes in family demographics
timeFrame: Baseline, year 1, year 2 and year 3
measure: Change in weight
timeFrame: Baseline, year 1, year 2 and year 3
measure: Change in height
timeFrame: Baseline, year 1, year 2 and year 3
measure: Change in mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC)
timeFrame: Baseline, year 1, year 2 and year 3
measure: Change in waist circumference
timeFrame: Baseline, year 1, year 2 and year 3
measure: Change in hemoglobin
timeFrame: Baseline, year 1, year 2 and year 3
measure: Change in blood pressure
timeFrame: Baseline, year 1, year 2 and year 3
measure: Change in HbA1c
timeFrame: Baseline, year 1, year 2 and year 3
measure: Food intake
timeFrame: Year 1, year 2 and year 3
measure: Cognition function
timeFrame: When children are 18th months
measure: Change in school attendence
timeFrame: Each semester of school in year 1, 2 and 3 of study
measure: Change in head circumference
timeFrame: After birth, year 1, year 2, year 3
measure: Change in Literacy
timeFrame: Year 1, year 2, year 3
measure: Change in Grip Strength
timeFrame: Baseline, year 1, year 2 and year 3
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Bissau
country: Guinea-Bissau
facility: PDDC
Study officials:
affiliation: Ministry of Finance
name: Alfa U Jalo, MS
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: