Rewarding Safer Sex : Conditional Cash Transfers for HIV/STI Prevention
Incentive-based policies have been shown to be powerful in many areas of behavior, but have rarely been tested in the sexual domain. The Rewarding Sexually Transmitted Infection Prevention and Control in Tanzania (RESPECT) study is a randomized con...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Publications & Research |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank Group, Washington, DC
2014
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/11/20366321/rewarding-safer-sex-conditional-cash-transfers-hivsti-prevention http://hdl.handle.net/10986/20617 |
| Summary: | Incentive-based policies have been shown
to be powerful in many areas of behavior, but have rarely
been tested in the sexual domain. The Rewarding Sexually
Transmitted Infection Prevention and Control in Tanzania
(RESPECT) study is a randomized controlled trial testing the
hypothesis that a system of rapid feedback and positive
reinforcement that uses cash as the primary incentive can be
used to reduce risky sexual activity among young people,
male and female, who are at high risk of HIV infection. The
study enrolled 2,399 participants in 10 villages in rural
southwest Tanzania. The intervention arm received
conditional cash transfers that depended on negative results
of periodic screenings for sexually transmitted infections,
an objectively measured marker for risky sexual behavior.
The intervention arm was further divided into two subgroups,
one receiving a high value payment of up to $60 over the
course of the study ($20 payments every four months) and the
other receiving a lower value payment of up to $30 ($10
payments every four months). At the end of the one year of
intervention, the results showed a significant reduction in
sexually transmitted infections in the group that was
eligible for the $20 payments every four months, but no such
reduction was found for the group receiving the $10
payments. The effects were stronger among the lower
socioeconomic and higher risks groups. The results of a
post-intervention follow-up survey conducted one year after
discontinuing the intervention indicate a sustained effect
among males, but not among females. |
|---|