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Field
Abstract
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Before
We are testing marketing strategies for selling menstrual cups to women in self-help groups in rural Tamil Nadu. These cups can save women money, improve health, and facilitate school or work outside the home. We test vivid presentations, free trials, and word of mouth.
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After
Women in poor nations often have poor menstrual hygiene. We are testing whether an intervention within rural self-help groups can address these challenges. We focus on behavior change beyond education. We use illustrated stories, brief animations, and role-play to make content vivid. We address perceived social norms, by giving the women in the self-help group an opportunity to collectively endorse safer behaviors. We want women to control their bodies and lives. We provide risk-free trials and free samples of affordable menstrual cups (M-cups) that can improve hygiene, make it easier to go to work outside the home, and save money. The objective is to understand the scope for scaling up the adoption of M-cups among married women in India to promote positive change and advance menstrual health initiatives and the adoption of M-cups as an affordable and convenient option. Compared to the status quo, we remove barriers on the supply side by creating a supply chain for menstrual cups. \
* The module focuses on changing women’s perceptions of the norms of her community, and clarifying the frequently asked questions and answers on the usage of menstrual cups so they accept the new behaviors (e.g., cooking while menstruating) and encourage their peers to also accept the new behaviors. We take advantage of increasing smartphone usage in the rural community by creating a WhatsApp group among women to share videos and presentations on MHM.Distributing engaging illustrated stories and informative videos
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Trial Start Date
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Before
August 19, 2024
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After
September 02, 2024
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Last Published
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August 28, 2024 01:45 PM
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After
October 23, 2024 05:39 PM
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Intervention Start Date
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Before
August 19, 2024
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After
November 19, 2024
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Primary Outcomes (Explanation)
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Before
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There will be no direct benefit to the participants, and we do not pay them to participate. However, the indirect benefit is that we hope that the information gained from the study will help improve women's health in India.
Also the menstrual cups will be distributed free for one arm and for free trial for another arm.
There may be meaningful benefits to purchasing a menstrual cup: Better health (if shifting away from cloths); saving money (if shifting away from menstrual pads); fewer leaks; and ease of working or attending school away from home (as cups do not need to be changed for 8-12 hours). If a woman accepts and free trial and does not like her cup, she can return it and get her money back.
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Field
Experimental Design (Public)
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Before
We will randomize self-help groups.
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After
We will randomize self-help groups. Baseline interview
We will select random women to interview for the baseline. We may interview 100% of women if funds permit. Interviewers will take oral informed consent and collect a baseline survey. The survey is in Section 17- Attachments.
Intervention
A cluster sampling method will be followed. We will randomize groups into 3 study arms, one arm with a free sample of menstrual cups, another with a free trial of menstrual cups on a voluntary basis, and a third one will be a sales/outright purchase arm.
We will hire and train self-help group facilitators. In the treatment arm, each session will be 60 minutes. (Self-help group meetings can be somewhat longer than our sessions, as the women handle savings and loans, group elections, etc.)
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Planned Number of Observations
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2400 women
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After
Each study group will consist of two self-help groups, which together will include eligible women for participation in the study. A study group will consist of approximately 15 to 20 women who are qualified to participate in the study. We will aim for 40 women's study groups in each district. If one district has challenges, we may end up with more or less than 40 study groups per district.
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Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
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60 groups in each treatment arm
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40 groups in each treatment
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Intervention (Hidden)
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Before
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After
We will work in three districts of Tamil Nadu: Chengalpet, Thiruvallur, and Kancheepuram. We will work with local NGOs to identify 120 study groups. Each study group will consist of two self-help groups, which together will include eligible women for participation in the study. A study group will consist of approximately 15 women who are qualified to participate in the study. We will aim for 40 women's study groups in each district. If one district has challenges, we may end up with more or less than 40 study groups per district.
We will hire self-help group facilitators ("facilitators") in each district. Facilitators will be experienced female NGO staff who have presented to self-help groups before. We hope to hire largely or entirely facilitators who have presented on women's health.
We will then randomly allocate groups into each study arm (prior to any data collection, but enumerators will be blind to randomization).
We will randomly select self-help group members to interview. (If budget permits, we will interview 100% of women). Interviewers will visit women’s homes. We will collect oral consent (as many of the women are illiterate). We will inform them that there are no consequences to skipping these interviews and that they can stop interviews at any time.
For the interview, the interviewers will use a culturally appropriate greeting and then read the informed consent script aloud as their recruitment script to the women participants.
A letter requesting permission will be completed with basic details of the village and signed by the village official approving to conduct the study in the respective villages.
We will only work with self-help group members who are over 18. Our data collection may over-sample married women, as the intervention targets married women.
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Secondary Outcomes (Explanation)
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Before
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After
There will be no direct benefit to the participants, and we do not pay them to participate. However, the indirect benefit is that we hope that the information gained from the study will help improve women's health in India.
Also the menstrual cups will be distributed free for one arm and for free trial for another arm.
There may be meaningful benefits to purchasing a menstrual cup: Better health (if shifting away from cloths); saving money (if shifting away from menstrual pads); fewer leaks; and ease of working or attending school away from home (as cups do not need to be changed for 8-12 hours). If a woman accepts and free trial and does not like her cup, she can return it and get her money back.
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