The Effect of Information Campaigns on Sewer Connectivity in El Alto, Bolivia

Last registered on December 13, 2018

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The Effect of Information Campaigns on Sewer Connectivity in El Alto, Bolivia
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0003666
Initial registration date
December 12, 2018

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
December 13, 2018, 12:44 AM EST

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

Locations

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
IADB

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
IADB
PI Affiliation
IADB

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2017-07-01
End date
2019-12-31
Secondary IDs
Abstract
We propose a study on the effect of an information campaign on the demand for public sewerage services in District 8 of the city of El Alto, Bolivia. A public financed sewage system was put in place in the area between 2014-2015, but, a representative household survey collected between July and August 2017 showed that the percentage of households connected to the system was 57%. As part of the project, a social marketing strategy was designed to boost household level connectivity to the sewage system in the area. The information campaign provided information about the benefits of connecting to the system, as well as information about how to connect (costs, providers, etc.) using mass communication strategies, street fairs, community meetings and home visits. We propose a randomized controlled trial to estimate the effect of the campaign on sewer connection rates. Results from this study will contribute to the scarce evidence of the effectiveness of information interventions to boost connectivity in low-income urban contexts.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Martinez, Sebastian, Cristina Mecerreyes and Cecilia Vidal. 2018. "The Effect of Information Campaigns on Sewer Connectivity in El Alto, Bolivia." AEA RCT Registry. December 13. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.3666-1.0
Former Citation
Martinez, Sebastian, Cristina Mecerreyes and Cecilia Vidal. 2018. "The Effect of Information Campaigns on Sewer Connectivity in El Alto, Bolivia." AEA RCT Registry. December 13. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/3666/history/38866
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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The program used communication campaigns on the importance of sewage connectivity, use and maintenance of the service, payment of fees and others. The program included three levels of intervention: (1) Information and mass media communication, using radio messages, jingles, tv spots; (2) local mobilization at the neighborhood level, including training workshops with community leaders in schools and local fairs; and (3) household visits to provide specific information about the importance of connecting, as well as the costs and available suppliers of material and construction services. The intervention was implemented in 12 weeks between May and July 2018.
Intervention Start Date
2018-05-01
Intervention End Date
2018-07-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Connection rate (percentage of the population connected to the sewage system)
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Connection rate = (# dwellings connected to sewer system)/(total dwellings). The connection rate will be computed for dwellings not connected at baseline. Connection rates will be analyzed over time between May 2018 through the date of endline measurement.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Number of facilities connected (bathrooms, kitchen, laundry, others)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The intervention was implemented 92 neighborhoods in District 8 of the city of El Alto in La Paz, Bolivia. The evaluation sample is composed of 31 neighborhoods, randomly selected from the total, for which a baseline survey was carried out in 2017. Neighborhoods in the evaluation sample were stratified by the number of households not connected to the system into a total of 10 blocks. Within each stratum or block, we randomly assigned two thirds of neighborhoods (20) to Treatment with 11 weeks of intervention between May and July 2018, and one third (11 neighborhoods) to Control which implemented component 2 of the intervention for three weeks in July 2018. All neighborhoods in the sample were exposed to intervention (1) Information and mass media communication. Thus, experimental variation in interventions (2) and (3) was established during the months of May and June 2018. Thereafter, the control group was effectively treated with intervention (2). The study will compare the date of sewage connection for households in the treatment and control groups to test the effects of interventions (2) and (3) over time.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
The unit of randomization is the neighborhood. The unit of observation is the dwelling.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
31 neighborhoods with 1460 households not connected to the sewer line at baseline.
Sample size: planned number of observations
31 neighborhoods with 1460 households not connected to the sewer line at baseline.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
21 Treatment neighborhoods; 10 control neighborhoods.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number

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