Communication and Health Investments for Elderly Women

Household Communication and Health Investments for Elderly Women in Tamil Nadu

This study investigates how household communication plays a role in elderly women's take-up of health check-ups in rural Tamil Nadu, India. First, we survey elders and their caretakers to measure demand for check-ups for elders. We measure how interest in check-ups changes when we offer different versions of transportation support, to understand how much interest in check-ups are affected by the degree of caretaker involvement required. Second, we conduct a randomized evaluation of interventions to improve take-up of free health check-ups at a nearby private hospital. We will cross-randomize two interventions. The first randomizes who is informed about the check-up: either only the elder is informed or both the elder and the caretaker are informed about the check-up. The second randomizes whether free transportation is provided to and from the check-up. We will measure take-up of the check-up. We will also measure elders' willingness to mention the check-up to the caretaker.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Take-up of Preventative Care; Communication About Health Information
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Free Transport; Behavioral: Tell both

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 1200
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Jenny Wang; Phone Number: 617-253-3807; Email: wangjm@mit.edu

Study Locations

• India
  • Tamil Nadu
    • Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, 600018
      • Recruiting
      • JPAL SA at IFMR
      • Contact: Shrddha Rajesh; Phone Number: +91 96770 25388; Email: srajesh@povertyactionlab.org

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Elderly women aged 60-75

Exclusion Criteria:

• Those with severe hearing, speech, mental, or mobility impairment

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Factorial Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

4

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Tell elder only, without transport (Control); Elder is informed about the check-up. No free arranged transportation offered.
Experimental: Tell elder only, with free transport; Elder is informed about the check-up. We offer to arrange private transportation to and from the hospital at no cost.	Behavioral: Free Transport; We offer to arrange private transportation to and from the hospital at no cost.
Experimental: Tell elder and caretaker, without transport; Both elder and the caretaker are directly informed about the check-up. No free arranged transportation offered.	Behavioral: Tell both; Both elder and the caretaker are directly informed about the check-up.
Experimental: Tell elder and caretaker, with free transport; We offer to arrange private transportation to and from the hospital at no cost.	Behavioral: Free Transport; We offer to arrange private transportation to and from the hospital at no cost.; Behavioral: Tell both; Both elder and the caretaker are directly informed about the check-up.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Sign-up rates for check-up.	This will be a measure of whether the elder is signed up for the check-up by the caretaker. This will be measured either when the caretaker calls to reserve a spot for the elder or when the research team follows up with the household before the check-up.	Assessed at 3 days after the intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Elder attendance at check-up.	This is a measure of whether the elder shows up to the health check-up at the end of the week. Attendance at the health check-up will be measured by surveyors at the hospital, about 1 week after the health check-up invitations are shared with households.	1 week after the intervention
Elder willingness to mention check-up to caretaker	This is a measure of whether elder chooses to mention check-up to caretaker when offered. Among elders in households that are randomized into the "Tell elder only" arm, we will offer to inform the caretaker of the check-up on behalf of the elder and record whether the elder was willing to have us mention the check-up as one of our outcomes.	Assessed 2 days after the intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 10, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): October 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 1, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 1, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): December 12, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): December 12, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 1, 2025
• Last Verified: November 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: India; Elderly women; Household communication; Preventative health
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2505001660

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No