Entrepreneurial community health delivery in Uganda: a cluster-randomized controlled trial
Last registered on October 21, 2014
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information
General Information
Title
Entrepreneurial community health delivery in Uganda: a cluster-randomized controlled trial
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0000530
Initial registration date
October 21, 2014
Last updated
October 21, 2014 7:36 AM EDT
Location(s)
Country
Uganda
Region
Primary Investigator
Name
Martina Björkman Nyqvist
Affiliation
Stockholm School of Economics
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Other Primary Investigator(s)
PI Name
Andrea Guariso
PI Affiliation
KU Leuven
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PI Name
David Yanagizawa-Drott
PI Affiliation
John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
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PI Name
Jakob Svensson
PI Affiliation
Institute for international Economic Studies, Stockholm University
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Additional Trial Information
Status
Completed
Start date
2009-08-30
End date
2013-12-20
Keywords
Health
Additional Keywords
Community health worker, Child health, Uganda
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
Despite improvements in under-five child mortality, an estimated 6.9 million children die from preventable diseases worldwide every year. A majority of these deaths occur in the poorest countries in the world, in areas within countries of underserved populations with inadequate access to basic health services. An increasingly common approach to reach these populations has been Community Health Worker (CHW) programs. However, a systematic review of the evidence indicates mixed results of this approach in reducing child mortality. Whether alternative, financially sustainable, delivery models where CHWs earn a margin on product sales and small performance-based incentives can provide a solution is an open question. In this project, we study a community health worker program in Uganda – the community health promoter (CHP) program – where, in contrast to traditional volunteer-based community health workers, community health promoters operate as micro-entrepreneurs earning an income on the sale of preventive and curative products to keep them motivated and active in the community.
External Link(s)
Registration Citation
Citation
Björkman Nyqvist, Martina et al. 2014. "Entrepreneurial community health delivery in Uganda: a cluster-randomized controlled trial ." AEA RCT Registry. October 21. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/530/history/2958
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details
Interventions
Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2011-01-01
Intervention End Date
2013-12-20
Primary Outcomes
Primary Outcomes (end points)
Primary study outcome is under-five child mortality rate. Secondary study outcomes include community-health worker visits, percentage of children sleeping under a treated mosquito bed net, percentage of households that treat water before drinking it, malaria and diarrhea morbidity among children under 5, malaria diarrhea cases promptly treated, percentage of children under 5 receiving Vitamin A supplementation, percentage of deliveries in health facilities, follow up visits after malaria or diarrhea cases, antenatal care visits, follow up visits and delivery, health knowledge.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Secondary Outcomes
Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
Experimental Design
Experimental Design
A cluster-randomized controlled trial from 214 rural villages in 10 districts in Uganda. In treatment villages, Living Goods and BRAC Community Health Promoters conducted home visits, educated households on essential health behaviors and sold preventive and curative health products at 5-30% below prevailing retail prices over a three-year period (2011- 2013). On average, around 38 households were surveyed per village at the end of 2013, for a total sample size of roughly 8100 households.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by computer
Randomization Unit
Community Health Worker potential catchment area (essentially village)
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes
Experiment Characteristics
Sample size: planned number of clusters
214 Community Health Worker (CHW) potential catchment areas (roughly villages)
Sample size: planned number of observations
8100
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
115 Intervention clusters (roughly 4400 Households surveyed), 99 Control clusters (roughly 3700 Households surveyed)
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB
INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARDS (IRBs)
IRB Name
IRB of the Harvard School of Public Health
IRB Approval Date
2011-08-23
IRB Approval Number
20141-101
IRB Name
Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST) IRB
IRB Approval Date
2013-08-27
IRB Approval Number
SS 3195
Analysis Plan
Post-Trial
Post Trial Information
Study Withdrawal
Intervention
Is the intervention completed?
No
Is data collection complete?
Data Publication
Data Publication
Is public data available?
No
Program Files
Program Files
Reports and Papers
Preliminary Reports
Relevant Papers