Disentangling Channels of Information Dissemination in Healthcare Delivery in Rural India

Last registered on October 17, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Disentangling Channels of Information Dissemination in Healthcare Delivery in Rural India
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0012243
Initial registration date
October 05, 2023

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
October 17, 2023, 10:49 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
India
Region
Karnataka

Primary Investigator

Name
Erlend Berg
Affiliation
University of Bristol
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Rajasekhar D
PI Affiliation
Institute for Social and Economic Change
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PI Name
Manjula R
PI Affiliation
Institute for Social and Economic Change
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PI Name
Sanchari Roy
PI Affiliation
University of Exeter
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2023-09-01
End date
2024-03-31
Keywords
Behavior, Education, Governance, Health, Welfare
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We describe the analysis plan for a field experiment that will examine the importance of caste and salience in the transmission of information in rural India. The participants are social workers and potential beneficiaries living in randomly selected villages in Karnataka. The social workers are provided information about a particular health insurance scheme implemented by the Indian government. We then ask them to transmit this information to the potential beneficiaries. Each social workers is matched with four potential beneficiaries, and we measure information transmission by fielding a knowledge test to the beneficiaries before and after their interaction with the social worker. We randomly vary whether or not social worker and beneficiaries are matched on caste, and whether or not beneficiary caste is revealed to the social worker.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Berg, Erlend et al. 2023. "Disentangling Channels of Information Dissemination in Healthcare Delivery in Rural India." AEA RCT Registry. October 17. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.12243-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Every ASHA is matched with two beneficiaries from her own caste group and two from a different caste group. Each beneficiary will interact with only one ASHA. We experimentally vary whether the beneficiary’s caste identity is revealed to the ASHA or not.

Hence, there will be four experimental groups: ASHA--beneficiary pairs who belong to same caste and beneficiary’s caste identity is revealed (Matched-Revealed), pairs who are matched but identity is not revealed (Matched-Not revealed), pairs who are unmatched and identity is revealed (Unmatched-Revealed) and pairs who are unmatched but identity is not revealed (Unmatched-not revealed). Each ASHA will meet with one household from each of these four categories, and the order in which she interacts with them will be randomised.
Intervention Start Date
2023-09-24
Intervention End Date
2023-10-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
beneficiary knowledge of the health insurance scheme
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
The information gained by the beneficiaries through this dissemination process would be measured by administering a knowledge immediately after the information session. This knowledge test score is our primary outcome variable.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Possible secondary outcome variables: Measures of 'teaching to the test', subjective perception of counterparty friendliness and communication effectiveness. Possible secondary outcome variables: Measures of 'teaching to the test', subjective perception of counterparty friendliness and communication effectiveness. It will also be of interest to look at the effect for sub-categories of knowledge, for example, numerical vs non-numerical knowledge, and eligibility vs information on benefits.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Every ASHA is matched with two beneficiaries from her own caste group and two from a different caste group. Each beneficiary will interact with only one ASHA. We experimentally vary whether the beneficiary’s caste identity is revealed to the ASHA or not.

Hence, there will be four experimental groups: ASHA--beneficiary pairs who belong to same caste and beneficiary’s caste identity is revealed (Matched-Revealed), pairs who are matched but identity is not revealed (Matched-Not revealed), pairs who are unmatched and identity is revealed (Unmatched-Revealed) and pairs who are unmatched but identity is not revealed (Unmatched-not revealed). Each ASHA will meet with one household from each of these four categories, and the order in which she interacts with them will be randomised.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Computer.
Randomization Unit
ASHA-beneficiary pair. Each ASHA is allocated two matched and two unmatched households. Caste revelation is randomised with these pairs.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
400 ASHA-beneficiary pairs
Sample size: planned number of observations
400 ASHA-beneficiary pairs
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
100 matched-revealed ASHA-beneficiary pairs
100 matched-notrevealed ASHA-beneficiary pairs
100 unmatched-revealed ASHA-beneficiary pairs
100 unmatched-notrevealed ASHA-beneficiary pairs
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Kings College London Research Ethics Office
IRB Approval Date
2019-08-23
IRB Approval Number
MRA-18/19-14297
Analysis Plan

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Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials