More than Brides Alliance: Evaluation of Interventions to Delay Marriage

Last registered on June 22, 2020
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
More than Brides Alliance: Evaluation of Interventions to Delay Marriage
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0001463
Initial registration date
August 04, 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
August 04, 2016, 8:11 AM EDT

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

Last updated
June 22, 2020, 3:54 PM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country
India
Region
Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Odisha
Country
Mali
Region
Sikasso, Segou
Country
Malawi
Region
Mchinji, Nkhata Bay, Mangochi
Country
Niger
Region
Maradi, Tillaberi

Primary Investigator

Name
Sajeda Amin
Affiliation
Population Council
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2016-07-13
End date
2020-12-31
Keywords
Education, Health, Welfare
Additional Keywords
child marriage, early marriage, adolescent empowerment
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
The overall goals of the More Than Brides Alliance are:
o Empower at risk and already married adolescents with life skills, comprehensive sexuality education and sexual and reproductive health and rights information.
o Provide alternatives to child marriage and mitigate the impact on married girls through enhancing access to education, economic opportunities, and child protection systems
o Increase access to sexual and reproductive health and rights for young people
o Change /challenge social norms, including harmful customs, traditions, norms, and practices
o Influence legal and policy frameworks

The Population Council is evaluating interventions in 4 countries: India, Malawi, Mali and Niger. In India and Malawi, we are using a cluster randomized design to assign locations as either intervention or comparison. In Mali and Niger, due to the design of the intervention, we are matching intervention and comparison areas to assess program impact. In each of the four countries we are conducting baseline, midline and endline surveys with females 12-19 (approximately 5,000 in total; sample sizes vary by country) as well as qualitative data collection to 1) assess program impact; 2) better understand the context in which early marriage occurs, and the process of early marriage; and 3) examine other factors that may influence early marriage in particular settings (e.g., migration in West Africa).
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Amin, Sajeda. 2020. "More than Brides Alliance: Evaluation of Interventions to Delay Marriage." AEA RCT Registry. June 22. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.1463-1.1
Former Citation
Amin, Sajeda. 2020. "More than Brides Alliance: Evaluation of Interventions to Delay Marriage." AEA RCT Registry. June 22. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/1463/history/71008
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2016-09-01
Intervention End Date
2020-10-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
% females 12-19 married at endline; % females 12-19 in school at endline; % females 12-19 have a child at endline
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
In India and Malawi, we are using a cluster randomized design to assign locations as intervention or comparison. In Niger and Mali, we are matching comparison and intervention areas based on criteria selected by intervention partners in the determination of areas for program implementation.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done remotely by computer
Randomization Unit
India: gram panchayat
Malawi: group head village
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
India: 110 clusters
Malawi: 45 clusters
Mali: 40 clusters
Niger: 30 clusters
Sample size: planned number of observations
India: 2400 Malawi: 1000 Mali: 800 Niger: 600
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
India: 1200 intervention; 1200 comparison
Malawi: 500 intervention; 500 comparison
Mali: 400 intervention; 400 comparison
Niger: 300 intervention; 300 comparison
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
India: Based on a target sample size of 2600 girls (110 clusters of 20 girls each (for a sample of 2400, assuming ~10% refusal rate) we estimate a minimum detectable effect size of 10% up for the outcome of proportion females 15-19 married at endline. Data from the 2005/6 Demographic and Health Surveys were used to obtain estimates of the proportion of females 15-19 currently married or in union in the proposed intervention states (Rajasthan, Orissa, Jharkhand and Bihar). Using the proportion of females 15-19 currently married or in union in Orissa (22.7%) as the lower plausible value and the proportion currently married or in union in Bihar as the upper plausible value (45.0%) we estimate that we will have 76% power at 10 clusters per site Malawi: Based on a target sample size of 1000 girls (45 clusters of 20 girls each (for a sample of 900, assuming ~10% refusal rate) we estimate a minimum detectable effect size of 15% up for the outcome of proportion females 12-19 married at endline. Data from the 2008 Malawi Census provide estimates of upper and lower plausible values for early marriage in Malawi. From the Census we find that the proportion of females 12-19 currently married or in union varies from about 5% to 30%. Using these values and assuming a total of 20 girls per GHV will be interviewed, we should have 80% power at 45 clusters (45 GHVs). Mali: Based on a target sample size of 800 girls (40 clusters of 20 girls each) we estimate a minimum detectable effect size of 15% up for the outcome of proportion females 12-19 married at endline. Data from the 2012/3 DHS provide estimates of upper and lower plausible values for early marriage in Mali. From DHS data we find that the proportion of females 15-19 currently married or in union varies from about 39% to 56%. Although the numbers for 12-19 will skew lower, we use these values and assume a total of 20 girls per village (EA) will be interviewed. We estimate with n=20 per village/EA we should have >80% power at 40 clusters (villages/EAs). Niger: Based on a target sample size of 600 girls (30 clusters of 20 girls each) we estimate a minimum detectable effect size of 15% up for the outcome of proportion females 12-19 married at endline. Data from the 2012 DHS provide estimates of upper and lower plausible values for early marriage in Niger. From DHS data we find that the proportion of females 15-19 currently married or in union in the regions of interest varies from about 58% to 72%. Although the numbers for 12-19 will skew lower, we use these values and assume a total of 20 girls per village (EA) will be interviewed. We estimate with n=20 per village/EA we should have >90% power at 30 clusters (villages/EAs).
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Ministere de la Sante Publique Comite Consultatif National d'Ethique
IRB Approval Date
2016-12-15
IRB Approval Number
018/CCNE/16
IRB Name
National Commission for Science and Technology
IRB Approval Date
2016-10-13
IRB Approval Number
P08/16/126
IRB Name
Institut National de Recherche en Sante Publique, Comite d'ethique de l'inrsp (Bamako, Mali)
IRB Approval Date
2016-06-27
IRB Approval Number
1223/MS-SG
IRB Name
Population Council Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2016-03-09
IRB Approval Number
p732
Analysis Plan

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