Economic Evaluation of the MEWE Intervention

Summary

Cash transfers have shown promise in preventing intimate partner violence, and in reducing recipients' stress levels. Cash transfers with behavioral or psychological interventions have shown limited effectiveness at reducing stress in some African countries. Little is known of the cost-effectiveness of interventions delivered alongside cash transfer programs. The MEWE economic evaluation sub-study (MEWE-EE) runs alongside MEWE, a three-arm cluster-randomized controlled trial in Sindh, Pakistan. MEWE-EE will assess the costs and cost-effectiveness of delivering a cash-transfer program (BISP-CT) combined with a life-skills building curriculum (LSB curriculum), compared to the BISP-CT alone. The LSB curriculum is offered to either women who receive BISP-CT, or to women who receive BISP-CT and their husbands.

Conditions

• Depression
• Mental Health Issue
• Intimate Partner Violence
• Domestic Violence
• Gender-based Violence
• Rape Sexual Assault
• Battered Women

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Life Skills Building (LSB) curriculum for males

The LSB curriculum offers ten weekly 90-minute sessions. Topics include effective communication, gender roles, power dynamics in the household; work-life balance and time management; conflict resolution; household decision making. The LSB teachers are trained in facilitation techniques to deliver the sessions. All male study participants attending LSB curriculum classes are married to BISP-CT clients. For men, the MEWE intervention provides access to the LSB curriculum only.

BEHAVIORAL

Life Skills Building (LSB) curriculum for females

The LSB curriculum offers ten weekly 90-minute sessions. Topics include effective communication, gender roles, power dynamics in the household; work-life balance and time management; conflict resolution; household decision making. The LSB teachers are trained in facilitation techniques to deliver the sessions. All female study participants attending LSB curriculum classes are BISP-CT clients. For females, the MEWE intervention comprises access to LSB curriculum + BISP CTs.

OTHER

Cash transfer to adult females

The BISP intervention offers access to quarterly unconditional cash transfers to adult females.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Aga Khan University

  collaborator OTHER

• Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

  collaborator OTHER

• London School of Economics and Political Science

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Giulia Ferrari, PhD · London School of Economics & Political Science

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

15 Years

Max Age

49 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2021-09-15

Primary Completion

2022-06-30

Completion

2022-11-30

Countries

• Pakistan

Study Locations