Social Network Outcomes of a Livelihood Intervention for Impoverished Women in Rural Uganda

Social Network Outcomes of a Livelihood Intervention for Impoverished Women in Rural Uganda: Randomized Controlled Trial

The objective of our study is to determine whether a livelihood intervention can change economic and psychosocial outcomes of social network ties and geographically proximate neighbors of impoverished women in rural Uganda.

Study Overview

• Status: Unknown
• Conditions: Indigency
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Social network tie

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Anticipated): 600
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

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

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Eligibility will be limited to all adults living in Nyakabare Parish (i.e., aged 18 years and older), including emancipated minors. Emancipated minors will be defined as persons living below 18 years of age who are married, are pregnant, live with a biological child in the household, or are responsible for their own livelihood.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Persons under the age of 18 (other than emancipated minors as described above) and persons who do not live within Nyakabare Parish will not be permitted to participate.

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 be social network ties of women receiving a livelihood intervention package consisting of a orientation and training and a loan package of chickens and associated implements to create poultry microenterprises	Other: Social network tie; Participants will be social network ties of women receiving 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 be social network ties of women receiving no intervention but who 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
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
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
HIV Stigma Scale	Agreement (yes/no) with 15 statements about persons living with HIV (range, 0-15), to be assessed among social network ties of HIV-positive study participants	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

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: November 1, 2015
• Primary Completion (Anticipated): June 1, 2017
• Study Completion (Anticipated): June 1, 2017

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-S5