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Yoshino CA, Sidney-Annerstedt K, Wingfield T, Kirubi B, Viney K, Boccia D, Atkins S. Experiences of conditional and unconditional cash transfers intended for improving health outcomes and health service use: a qualitative evidence synthesis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2023; 3:CD013635. [PMID: 36999604 PMCID: PMC10064639 DOI: 10.1002/14651858.cd013635.pub2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND It is well known that poverty is associated with ill health and that ill health can result in direct and indirect costs that can perpetuate poverty. Social protection, which includes policies and programmes intended to prevent and reduce poverty in times of ill health, could be one way to break this vicious cycle. Social protection, particularly cash transfers, also has the potential to promote healthier behaviours, including healthcare seeking. Although social protection, particularly conditional and unconditional cash transfers, has been widely studied, it is not well known how recipients experience social protection interventions, and what unintended effects such interventions can cause. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this review was to explore how conditional and unconditional cash transfer social protection interventions with a health outcome are experienced and perceived by their recipients. SEARCH METHODS: We searched Epistemonikos, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Social Services Abstracts, Global Index Medicus, Scopus, AnthroSource and EconLit from the start of the database to 5 June 2020. We combined this with reference checking, citation searching, grey literature and contact with authors to identify additional studies. We reran all strategies in July 2022, and the new studies are awaiting classification. SELECTION CRITERIA We included primary studies, using qualitative methods or mixed-methods studies with qualitative research reporting on recipients' experiences of cash transfer interventions where health outcomes were evaluated. Recipients could be adult patients of healthcare services, the general adult population as recipients of cash targeted at themselves or directed at children. Studies could be evaluated on any mental or physical health condition or cash transfer mechanism. Studies could come from any country and be in any language. Two authors independently selected studies. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: We used a multi-step purposive sampling framework for selecting studies, starting with geographical representation, followed by health condition, and richness of data. Key data were extracted by the authors into Excel. Methodological limitations were assessed independently using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) criteria by two authors. Data were synthesised using meta-ethnography, and confidence in findings was assessed using the Confidence in the Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative research (GRADE-CERQual) approach. MAIN RESULTS: We included 127 studies in the review and sampled 41 of these studies for our analysis. Thirty-two further studies were found after the updated search on 5 July 2022 and are awaiting classification. The sampled studies were from 24 different countries: 17 studies were from the African region, seven were from the region of the Americas, seven were from the European region, six were from the South-East Asian region, three from the Western Pacific region and one study was multiregional, covering both the African and the Eastern Mediterranean regions. These studies primarily explored the views and experiences of cash transfer recipients with different health conditions, such as infectious diseases, disabilities and long-term illnesses, sexual and reproductive health, and maternal and child health. Our GRADE-CERQual assessment indicated we had mainly moderate- and high-confidence findings. We found that recipients perceived the cash transfers as necessary and helpful for immediate needs and, in some cases, helpful for longer-term benefits. However, across conditional and unconditional programmes, recipients often felt that the amount given was too little in relation to their total needs. They also felt that the cash alone was not enough to change their behaviour and, to change behaviour, additional types of support would be required. The cash transfer was reported to have important effects on empowerment, autonomy and agency, but also in some settings, recipients experienced pressure from family or programme staff on cash usage. The cash transfer was reported to improve social cohesion and reduce intrahousehold tension. However, in settings where some received the cash and others did not, the lack of an equal approach caused tension, suspicion and conflict. Recipients also reported stigma in terms of cash transfer programme assessment processes and eligibility, as well as inappropriate eligibility processes. Across settings, recipients experienced barriers in accessing the cash transfer programme, and some refused or were hesitant to receive the cash. Some recipients found cash transfer programmes more acceptable when they agreed with the programme's goals and processes. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight the impact of the sociocultural context on the functioning and interaction between the individual, family and cash transfer programmes. Even where the goals of a cash transfer programme are explicitly health-related, the outcomes may be far broader than health alone and may include, for example, reduced stigma, empowerment and increased agency of the individual. When measuring programme outcomes, therefore, these broader impacts could be considered for understanding the health and well-being benefits of cash transfers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clara A Yoshino
- World Health Organization Collaborating Centre on Tuberculosis and Social Medicine, Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Kristi Sidney-Annerstedt
- World Health Organization Collaborating Centre on Tuberculosis and Social Medicine, Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Tom Wingfield
- World Health Organization Collaborating Centre on Tuberculosis and Social Medicine, Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Clinical Infection, Microbiology, and Immunology, Institute of Infection and Global Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
- Department of Clinical Sciences and International Public Health, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK
- Tropical and Infectious Disease Unit, Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK
| | - Beatrice Kirubi
- World Health Organization Collaborating Centre on Tuberculosis and Social Medicine, Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Centre for Public Health Research (CPHR), Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Kerri Viney
- Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Research School of Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
- School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Delia Boccia
- Department of Public Health, Environments and Society, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Salla Atkins
- World Health Organization Collaborating Centre on Tuberculosis and Social Medicine, Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Global Health and Development, Health Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
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Moore EV, Hirsch JS, Nakyanjo N, Nakubulwa R, Morse-Karzen B, Daniel L, Spindler E, Nalugoda F, Santelli JS. The negative health spillover effects of universal primary education policy: Ethnographic evidence from Uganda. Glob Public Health 2023; 18:2221973. [PMID: 37305987 PMCID: PMC10357409 DOI: 10.1080/17441692.2023.2221973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Scholars of global health have embraced universal education as a structural intervention to prevent HIV. Yet the costs of school, including fees and other ancillary costs, create an economic burden for students and their families, indicating both the challenge of realising the potential of education for preventing HIV and the ways in which the desire for education may produce vulnerabilities to HIV for those struggling to afford it. To explore this paradox, this article draws from collaborative, team-based ethnographic research conducted from June to August 2019 in the Rakai district of Uganda. Respondents reported that education is the most significant cost burden faced by Ugandan families, sometimes amounting to as much as 66% of yearly household budgets per student. Respondents further understood paying for children's schooling as both a legal requirement and a valued social goal, and they pointed to men's labour migrations to high HIV-prevalence communities and women's participation in sex work as strategies to achieve that. Building from regional evidence showing young East African women participate in transactional, intergenerational sex to secure school fees for themselves, our findings point to the negative health spillover effects of Uganda's universal schooling policies for the whole family.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jennifer S Hirsch
- Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | | | | | | | - Lee Daniel
- Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Esther Spindler
- Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - John S Santelli
- Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
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Gonzalez C, Brouwer KC, Reed E, Nicholls MJ, Kim J, Gonzalez-Zuniga PE, Gaeta-Rivera A, Urada LA. Women Trading Sex in a U.S.-Mexico Border City: A Qualitative Study of the Barriers and Facilitators to Finding Community and Voice. SEXES 2020; 1:1-18. [PMID: 34386640 PMCID: PMC8357315 DOI: 10.3390/sexes1010001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Poverty and income inequality can increase a woman's decision to engage in risky transactional sex, and may lead to unimaginable harms, such as violence, substance use, and human trafficking. This study examines the facilitators and barriers to finding community and voice among women trading sex in Tijuana, Mexico, and what factors, such as socio-structural support, violence, and substance use, may impact their potential to engage with others, including human service providers. Sixty qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with women trading sex in Tijuana, Mexico. Researchers met with participants for in-depth-face-to-face structured interviews. Data were coded using ATLAS.ti. Participants were aged 19-73 (mean: 37), 98% were of Mexican nationality, 90% reported trading sex independent of the control of others, with 58% identified as independent and street-based. Thirty percent of women trading sex reported substance use (excluding marijuana) and 20% reported injection drug use within 30 days. The majority reported no involvement in mobilization activities, but 85% expressed interest. However, barriers included stigma, cultural gender norms, partner violence, and privacy in regards to disclosure of sex trade involvement, moral conflict (revealing one's involvement in sex trade), involvement in substance use, human trafficking, and feeling powerless. Facilitators were having a safe space to meet, peer support, self-esteem, feeling heard, knowledge of rights, economic need to support families, and staying healthy. Findings imply the potential to go beyond mobilizing limited groups of women in the sex trade and instead involve whole community mobilization; that is, to reach and include the more vulnerable women (substance use, trafficked) in supportive services (social services, exit strategies, better healthcare opportunities, and/or education for healthcare providers to help break societal stigmas regarding women in the sex trade) and to change the status of women in society in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Gonzalez
- College of Health and Human Services, San Diego State University School of Social Work, San Diego, CA 92182, USA
| | - Kimberly C. Brouwer
- Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, University of California, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Elizabeth Reed
- Division of Health Promotion and Behavioral Science, San Diego State University School of Public Health, San Diego, CA 92182, USA
- Center on Gender Equity and Health, University of California, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Melanie J. Nicholls
- College of Health and Human Services, San Diego State University School of Social Work, San Diego, CA 92182, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, University of California, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Jessica Kim
- Center for Justice and Reconciliation, Point Loma Nazarene University, San Diego, CA 92106, USA
| | | | - Andrés Gaeta-Rivera
- Instituto Chihuahuense de Salud Mental, 31000 Chihuahua, Mexico
- School of Medicine and Psychology, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, 21289 Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
| | - Lianne A. Urada
- College of Health and Human Services, San Diego State University School of Social Work, San Diego, CA 92182, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, University of California, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Center on Gender Equity and Health, University of California, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Correspondence:
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The use of financial incentives to prevent unhealthy behaviors: A review. Soc Sci Med 2020; 261:113236. [PMID: 32781370 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Revised: 07/10/2020] [Accepted: 07/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Behaviors that are putting people's health at risk are widespread and some of them are on the rise. Some of these behaviors can be prohibited or prevented by taxation. But financial incentives such as conditional cash transfers are also increasingly proposed and tested to discourage such behaviors, in domains as varied as HIV/AIDS, drugs, alcohol, smoking, and obesity. This paper presents the theoretical justification for using such incentives, distinguishing between the price, income effects, and the nudge effects. The growing literature about the effectiveness of financial incentives to prevent undesirable behaviors is reviewed in detail for each type of harmful behavior. Finally, the paper discusses the long-term sustainability of such incentives, a key issue if they are to be scaled up beyond pilot programs and research projects. The current evidence on whether such incentives have an impact after they are discontinued is mixed. Some design features, like lotteries or commitment devices, could induce savings as well as increase effectiveness, therefore improving sustainability.
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Atkins S, Sidney-Annerstedt K, Viney K, Wingfield T, Boccia D, Lönnroth K. Experiences of conditional and unconditional cash transfers intended for improving health outcomes and health service use: a qualitative evidence synthesis. Hippokratia 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/14651858.cd013635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Salla Atkins
- Faculty of Social Sciences and New Social Research; Tampere University; Tampere Finland
- Department of Global Public Health; Karolinska Institutet; Stockholm Sweden
| | | | - Kerri Viney
- Department of Global Public Health; Karolinska Institutet; Stockholm Sweden
| | - Tom Wingfield
- Clinical Infection, Microbiology, and Immunology, Institute of Infection and Global Health; University of Liverpool; Liverpool UK
| | - Delia Boccia
- Department of Epidemiology and Population Health; London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine; London UK
| | - Knut Lönnroth
- Department of Global Public Health; Karolinska Institutet; Stockholm Sweden
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Yang F, Janamnuaysook R, Boyd MA, Phanuphak N, Tucker JD. Key populations and power: people-centred social innovation in Asian HIV services. Lancet HIV 2020; 7:e69-e74. [PMID: 31818717 PMCID: PMC8211360 DOI: 10.1016/s2352-3018(19)30347-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2019] [Revised: 07/28/2019] [Accepted: 08/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Key populations increasingly lead the design, implementation, and evaluation of HIV services, which provides an opportunity to make them more people-centred. Despite many challenges, a strong argument that these populations must have a greater role in HIV service planning, development, and delivery worldwide exists. This Viewpoint focuses on Asia, where key populations have advocated for legal reform, engaged vulnerable groups to decrease stigma, co-created innovative HIV services, and developed new key population-led health services. Further research on key populations and their roles in HIV implementation and sustainable scale-up is needed in Asia and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fan Yang
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Project-China, Guangzhou, China
| | | | - Mark A Boyd
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia; Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, Australia
| | | | - Joseph D Tucker
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Project-China, Guangzhou, China; Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
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Survey measures versus incentivized measures of risk preferences: Evidence from sex workers' risky sexual transactions. Soc Sci Med 2019; 238:112497. [PMID: 31446372 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2018] [Revised: 08/14/2019] [Accepted: 08/16/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Survey measures of risk attitudes are primarily used in the health literature, although incentivized measures of risk preferences are being increasingly used in other fields. We exploit the unique setting of commercial female sex workers in Bangladesh to investigate whether incentivized measures of risk preferences, or non-incentivized survey measures of risk preferences, best identify the risky commercial sex decisions that they make. The study uses survey data collected during February-April 2016, and October-November 2016 from eight brothels in Bangladesh. Wave 1 includes 1,332 female sex workers, Wave 2 includes 1,185 female sex workers. Our findings suggest that researchers can reliably use survey measures to elicit risk preferences on health.
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Packel LJ, de Walque D, Feeney KC, Balampama MP, Cooper JE, Kalolella A, Wechsberg WM, Dow WH. A randomized trial of cash incentives for sexual behavior change among female sex workers in Dar es Salaam. Soc Sci Med 2018; 272:111655. [PMID: 33731255 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.03.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2017] [Revised: 02/23/2018] [Accepted: 03/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Female sex workers (FSW) across the world are at high risk for HIV infection and much work is needed to scale up HIV prevention programs among this group. Conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs have been used successfully in recent years to encourage behavior change. We report the results of a CCT intervention among FSW in Tanzania. METHODS We conducted a randomized controlled trial (N = 100) of a CCT intervention among FSW in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania in 2013. A respondent-driven sampling approach recruited women and randomized them into two groups based on the value of the cash incentive ($20 vs. $40 per visit). All women received testing for 2 curable sexually transmitted infections (STIs), trichomonas and syphilis, free treatment for those STIs and counseling. Women attended study visits at 0, 2 and 4 months and were tested for STIs and received counseling at each visit. Women testing negative for both STIs at the 2- and 4-month visits received a cash reward. RESULTS Eighty-four women were retained in the study through all three visits. Participants reported significant reductions in the number of clients per week, and increases in the proportion of clients that they used condoms with over the course of the study. STI results showed decreases in prevalence from baseline to final study visit for syphilis and trichomonas. CONCLUSION While this study was not powered to determine if the incentive resulted in statistically significant increases in condom use or decreases in STI prevalence, the results show the acceptability of the intervention, the feasibility of the recruitment methods, and the ability to retain FSW participants across multiple study visits. A follow-up randomized study with a larger number of participants is planned to test the efficacy of the intervention among high-risk populations of women engaging in transactional sex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura J Packel
- Office of the President, University of California, 1111 Franklin Street, Oakland, CA 94607, USA.
| | - Damien de Walque
- Development Research Group, The World Bank, 1818 H Street, NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA.
| | - Kevin C Feeney
- School of Public Health, 50 University Hall, #7360, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-7360, USA.
| | | | - Jan E Cooper
- School of Public Health, 50 University Hall, #7360, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-7360, USA.
| | - Admirabilis Kalolella
- Ifakara Health Institute, Plot 463, Kiko Avenue, Mikocheni, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, P.O. Box 78373.
| | - Wendee M Wechsberg
- Global Gender Center, RTI International, East Cornwallis Road, P.O. Box 12194, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2194, USA.
| | - William H Dow
- School of Public Health, 50 University Hall, #7360, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-7360, USA.
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