Peer Effects in the Demand for Male Circumcision: Evidence from Secondary Schools in Malawi

Last registered on June 21, 2016

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Peer Effects in the Demand for Male Circumcision: Evidence from Secondary Schools in Malawi
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0001366
Initial registration date
June 21, 2016

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
June 21, 2016, 1:01 AM EDT

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
HKUST

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
KDI School of Public Policy and Management
PI Affiliation
Columbia University

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2011-10-03
End date
2013-12-27
Secondary IDs
Abstract
This study addresses two questions: 1) How to promote demand for male circumcision in the context of secondary schools in Malawi and 2) What is the role of peer effects in the demand for male circumcision. We randomly provided free male circumcision and transportation vouchers to male students across 33 public secondary schools near Lilongwe, Malawi. Using a two-step randomized design, we first assigned classrooms into three groups (100% Treatment, 50% Treatment, or No Treatment classrooms) and then also randomly selected half of male students in 50% Treatment classrooms for treatment.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Kim, Booyuel, Hyuncheol Kim and Cristian Pop-Eleches. 2016. "Peer Effects in the Demand for Male Circumcision: Evidence from Secondary Schools in Malawi." AEA RCT Registry. June 21. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.1366-1.0
Former Citation
Kim, Booyuel, Hyuncheol Kim and Cristian Pop-Eleches. 2016. "Peer Effects in the Demand for Male Circumcision: Evidence from Secondary Schools in Malawi." AEA RCT Registry. June 21. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/1366/history/8943
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Free male circumcision surgery and transportation subsidies were provided to a total of 1,972 male students in 2012. In the second round, the remaining 2,002 male students who were temporarily untreated in the first round received the same treatment one year later.
Intervention Start Date
2011-12-05
Intervention End Date
2013-12-06

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Male circumcision take-ups
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
This program was implemented as a phase-in randomized controlled trial in a sample of 3,974 boys (9th-11th grade) at 124 classrooms of 33 public schools in collaboration with the Africa Future Foundation. In the first round, we randomly assigned 41 classrooms (across 24 schools) to 100% Treatment, 41 classrooms (across 25 schools) to 50% Treatment, and 42 classrooms (across 28 schools) to the No Treatment group. Half of the students in 50% Treatment classrooms were then randomly selected to receive a male circumcision offer. Free male circumcision surgery and transportation subsidies were provided to a total of 1,972 male students in 2012. In the second round, the remaining 2,002 male students who were temporarily untreated in the first round received the same treatment one year later. However, due to the funding constraint of the collaborating NGO, the period for the second round was shorter than that of the first round.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Treatment classrooms were randomly selected in the project office by a computer random number generator.
Randomization Unit
We used a two-step randomization design; we first assigned 124 classrooms into three groups (100% Treatment, 50% Treatment, or No Treatment classrooms) and then randomly selected half of the male students in the 50% Treatment classrooms for treatment. Therefore, randomization unit is both classroom level and individual level.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
All 33 public secondary schools in the four catchment districts (Chimutu, Chitukula, Tsabango, and Kalumba) in Lilongwe, which are the catchment area of Daeyang Luke Hospital, the partner hospital of the Africa Future Foundation (collaborating NGO).
Sample size: planned number of observations
Around 5,000 male students (grade 9 ~ 11) from 33 public secondary schools in the four catchment districts.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
The total sample after the baseline survey was 3,974 male students at 124 classrooms of 33 public schools. 41 classrooms (across 24 schools) and 41 classrooms (across 25 schools) were assigned to 100% Treatment and 50% Treatment, respectively. The remaining 42 classrooms (across 28 schools) were assigned to the control group.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Cornell Institutional Review Board for Human Participants
IRB Approval Date
2013-10-02
IRB Approval Number
1310004153
IRB Name
IRB Office, Columbia University
IRB Approval Date
2013-06-30
IRB Approval Number
IRB-AAAL8400(Y1M00)
IRB Name
Malawi National Health Science Research Committee (NHSRC)
IRB Approval Date
2011-10-03
IRB Approval Number
NHSRC#902

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