A Brief Telecounselling Intervention During COVID-19 for Women in Rural Bangladesh

Last registered on November 29, 2021
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
A Brief Telecounselling Intervention During COVID-19 for Women in Rural Bangladesh
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0005948
Initial registration date
July 15, 2020

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
July 15, 2020, 10:13 AM EDT

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

Last updated
November 29, 2021, 5:01 PM EST

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

Locations

Country
Bangladesh
Region
Southwest

Primary Investigator

Name
Asad Islam
Affiliation
Monash University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Michael Vlassopoulos
PI Affiliation
University of Southampton
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Abu Siddique
PI Affiliation
Technical University of Munich
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Debayan Pakrashi
PI Affiliation
Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Firoz Ahmed
PI Affiliation
Khulna University, Bangladesh
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Tabassum Rahman
PI Affiliation
University of Newcastle
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2020-07-16
End date
2021-03-31
Keywords
Gender, Health
Additional Keywords
Mental health, COVID-19, telecounselling, women, Bangladesh
JEL code(s)
I10, I12, I18, I31, O12
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We provide the research design and analysis plan for evaluating the impact of a brief telecounseling intervention that aims to improve the mental health and wellbeing of women in rural Bangladesh. Due to COVID-19 lockdown and movement restrictions, women in developing countries are potentially experiencing a heavier burden of household chores and unpaid care responsibilities, and an increase in domestic violence, which are likely to affect their mental health. We want to evaluate whether providing mental support to adult women improves (i) their own mental health, (ii) compliance with COVID-19 precautionary measures, (iii) physical health of self, children, and other household members, and (iv) their own happiness, life satisfaction, and aspiration for the future.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Ahmed, Firoz et al. 2021. "A Brief Telecounselling Intervention During COVID-19 for Women in Rural Bangladesh." AEA RCT Registry. November 29. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.5948-1.1
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The trial will examine whether a brief counseling intervention promotes better compliance with precautionary measures for COVID-19, and is supportive of the physical and mental health and wellbeing of the women in the short and long run. The intervention will be delivered in the form of four fortnightly, one-to-one brief counseling sessions. The sessions will be delivered over the phone in compliance with social distancing measures and to minimize the risk of infection. Trained female para-counselors will deliver the counseling sessions.
Intervention Start Date
2020-07-16
Intervention End Date
2020-09-02

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
We will examine the effect of the intervention on the following primary outcomes:
a) Perceived Stress
b) Depression
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
a) Compliance with COVID-19 precautionary measures post-lockdown.
b) Physical health of self, children, and adult household members.
c) Happiness, life satisfaction, and aspiration for the future.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
2402 women from 357 villages in Bangladesh have been randomized into treatment and control arms. The participants in the treatment arm will receive four 20 minutes counseling sessions over the phone, one every fortnight. The control group will not receive any counseling sessions. In the end, an endline survey will be conducted to examine the effect of the intervention on the outcomes. Depending on the COVID-19 situation in Bangladesh, we also plan to follow the participants up six months after the endline.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization was done by a computer (using STATA).
Randomization Unit
Our unit of randomization is at the individual level.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
Not applicable.
Sample size: planned number of observations
2,402 women (one adult woman per household).
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
1,299 women in treatment and 1,103 women in control arms.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IIT Kanpur, India
IRB Approval Date
2020-07-15
IRB Approval Number
IITK/IEC/2019-20-II/Jul/1
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

Pre analysis plan

MD5: e99841672efb03f171e0f5f1d7b5cce6

SHA1: bb67b961b93a194b49fc0288946dd349ea95f051

Uploaded At: July 15, 2020

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

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