Evaluating a training program to increase Hb test uptake: Experimental evidence from India

The intervention is through a training fellowship program designed to educate participants on the impact of anaemia on productivity within a career development framework. The program offers free vouchers for haemoglobin (Hb) testing at local laboratories and will compare the uptake of these tests between the treatment and control groups. At the baseline, participants will be asked about their intention to get tested, enabling us to quantify the intention-action gap and evaluate the effectiveness of the training program.

The fellowship includes a 40-hour training course focused on the soft skills required in modern workplaces, targeted at 1,000 young females residing in Uttar Pradesh (UP). The training program is structured into three modules: masterclasses, videos, and role-playing exercises that simulate real-world scenarios. Anaemia content is incorporated in all three modules to raise awareness about the effects of anaemia on productivity, motivate participants to get tested for anaemia, and encourage adherence to iron and folic acid (IFA) supplementation.

The CSBC team will develop an instructional deck for a masterclass to be delivered by a female celebrity (chosen by the fellowship team), emphasising key information about anaemia. This will be followed by a video highlighting the importance of maintaining one’s health while striving for career goals. Lastly, participants will engage in an in-person role-playing game where they receive symptom cards—some indicating anaemia and others not. Through the gameplay, participants will discuss, strategize, and attempt to identify who in the group may or may not have anaemia.

2024-07-01

2024-11-30

For each subject, we have Hb test uptake data reported by the lab, along with self-reported measures on a range of outcomes, including knowledge, attitude, practice and the intension-action gap regarding testing.

Uptake: An indicator variabe equal to 1 for those who got tested for Hb and 0 otherwise
Knowledge: Number of correct responses to the knowledge questions about Anaemia
Attitude: Number of correct responses to the attitude questions about Anaemia
Practice: Number of correct responses to the practice questions about Anaemia
Gap: Equals to 1 if subjects intend to get tested but fail to go to the lab to get tested and 0 otherwise

We use a randomized order of phase-in to study the short-run effects of the program on Hb test uptake, intention-action gap and long-run KAP scores. After recruiting 1000 learners, we conduct the baseline survey and then use stratified randomisation to assign learners to treatment and control groups. Stratified randomisation is based on whether participants are students, unemployed or already working and whether they opted for Saturday, Sunday or Either session. The intervention will start with the treatment group receiving the training, and after three months, we will conduct the endline survey for both treatment and control groups. The control group will only get the training after the endline. To quantify the effect of the treatment on test takeup, we give learners free vouchers for Hb tests that are valid after the delivery of the productivity module of the treatment group and expire before the endline. We are interested to learn if linking health to career aspirations and future success nudges women to take proactive steps, suggesting that framing health behaviours in the context of personal and professional goals - rather than only pregnancy and motherhood - can be an effective approach. Therefore, we integrate a series of reminders and digital nudges in the window of time that the vouchers are active for the participants to take a free test.

Not available

Randomization is done through random draws by a computer.

The unit of randomization is individuals.

No

NA

1000 learners.

Our sample would include 1000 female participants who are
- Between 19 and 26 years of age
- Comfortable with English
- Live in UP (Lucknow)
- Selected for the fellowship full scholarship
After recruiting 1000 learners, we will conduct the baseline survey and then use stratified randomisation to assign learners to treatment and control groups. Stratified randomisation is based on whether participants are students, unemployed or already working and whether they opted for Saturday, Sunday or Either session. Hence, we expect to have around 500 learners in each of the treatment and control groups.

With 1000 learners, our design is powered to detect a minimum detectable effect size of approximately 0.15 standard deviations for treatment effect between the groups if we assign 500 to the treatment and 500 to the control group.