A Livelihood Intervention for Impoverished Women in Rural Uganda

A Livelihood Intervention for Impoverished Women in Rural Uganda: Randomized Controlled Trial

The objective of the study is to determine whether a livelihood intervention can improve economic and psychosocial wellbeing in rural Uganda.

Study Overview

• Status: Unknown
• Conditions: Indigency
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Livelihood intervention

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Anticipated): 92
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Uganda
  • Mbarara, Uganda
    • Recruiting
    • Mbarara University of Science and Technology
    • Principal Investigator: Alexander C Tsai, MD, PhD
    • Principal Investigator: Bernard Kakuhikire, MBA
    • Contact: Alexander Tsai, MD, PhD; Phone Number: 617-724-1120; Email: actsai@partners.org

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 60 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Women aged 18-60 years (or emancipated minors aged 16-17 years) who live with at least one child under the age of 5 in the same household
• Women aged 18-60 years (or emancipated minors aged 16-17 years) who agree to participate in the livelihood intervention training program
• Women aged 18-60 years (or emancipated minors aged 16-17 years) who agree to participate in study data collection

Exclusion Criteria:

• Men
• Women who do not live in Nyakabare Parish
• Women under 18 years of age (if not emancipated minors) or older than 60 years of age
• Women who do not live with at least one child under the age of 5 in the same household
• Women who decline to participate in the livelihood intervention training program
• Women who decline to participate in study data collection
• Women who live in the same household as another study participant

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Immediate treatment; Participants will receive a livelihood intervention package consisting of a orientation and training and a loan package of chickens and associated implements to create poultry microenterprises	Other: Livelihood intervention; Participants will receive a livelihood intervention package consisting of a orientation and training and a loan package of chickens and associated implements to create poultry microenterprises.
No Intervention: Delayed treatment; Participants will receive no intervention but will be placed on a waitlist to receive the intervention after a 12-month delay.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Household Food Insecurity Access Scale	Scale items range from 0 (never) to 3 (more than 10 days in the past month)	12 months
Hopkins Symptom Checklist Scale	Scale items range from 1 (not at all) to 4 (very much)	12 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Intimate Partner Violence Scale	Experience (yes/no) of 12 different forms of emotional, sexual, or physical victimization by an intimate partner (range 0-12)	12 months
Norms about Intimate Partner Violence Scale	Agreement (yes/no) with 5 different statements about the acceptability of intimate partner violence under 5 different scenarios (range, 0-5)	12 months
Self-Reported Health Scale	Scale item ranges from 1 (very bad) to 4 (very good)	12 months
Decision Making Power Scale	Primary decision making (yes/no) on household expenditures in 7 different categories: food, livestock, health care, transport, social, educational, other household (range, 0-7)	12 months
Social Integration Scale	Frequency of participation in 11 different community groups: vocational, positive living, local council, water, village health, agricultural extension, savings, religious, women's, gardening (range, 0-11)	12 months
Social Capital Scale	Agreement (yes/no) with 4 questions about social trust and social cohesion (range, 0-4)	12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Massachusetts General Hospital
• Collaborators: Mbarara University of Science and Technology
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Alexander C Tsai, MD, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital; Principal Investigator: Bernard Kakuhikire, MBA, Mbarara University of Science and Technology

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Weil AA, Debela MD, Muyanja DM, Kakuhikire B, Baguma C, Bangsberg DR, Tsai AC, Lai PS. Gut carriage of antimicrobial resistance genes in women exposed to small-scale poultry farms in rural Uganda: A feasibility study. PLoS One. 2020 Jun 11;15(6):e0229699. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0229699. eCollection 2020. Erratum In: PLoS One. 2021 May 20;16(5):e0252261.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: November 1, 2015
• Primary Completion (Anticipated): December 1, 2016
• Study Completion (Anticipated): December 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 15, 2015
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 1, 2015
• First Posted (Estimate): December 2, 2015

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): December 2, 2015
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 1, 2015
• Last Verified: December 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: MH096620-S3