271 research outputs found
Labor and welfare impacts of a large-scale livelihoods program: Quasi-experimental evidence from India
No full textImproving the livelihoods of poor households and transitioning more women back to the labor force is a major challenge in South Asia. Self-employment promoted through women's groups has often been cited as a promising intervention towards this end. However, the evidence on the impact of such programs on household income and labor outcomes is limited, especially for government programs like the National Rural Livelihoods Mission in India. This study aims to provide empirical evidence on the welfare impacts of an "intensive approach" adopted under this program. The data for the study come from 4,316 household surveys in 727 villages. The study uses matching methods with the population and socioeconomic census, as well as an instrumental variable approach to construct a retrospective control group. The analysis finds that the program has been able to achieve its primary objective of improving livelihoods by transitioning more women into work. The program has also expanded access to credit, increased the proportion of savings, and reduced interest rates on credit for rural households. This is the first study to estimate the annual income effects of a government-run rural livelihoods program in India, and it shows significant increases in median income across the sample. The results for 30th, 40th, and 75th percentiles are also large and significant. However, the study did not find significant average treatment effects for income. Contrary to previous studies, this study finds weaker impacts on assets, except for livestock.Non-PRIFPRI5PHN
Quantifying air pollution vulnerability and its distributional consequences: Some perspectives from Delhi
No full textThis paper estimates Vulnerability Index of air pollution in Delhi taking into account exposure, susceptibility and coping capacity of households. A general health production function model and a vulnerability assessment framework are used for this purpose. Data was collected through a survey of sample households located in close vicinity to 10 air pollution monitoring stations in Delhi. The estimated vulnerability index is used to show the effect of household exposure to air pollution. The vulnerability index takes into consideration sample households' socio-economic status, demographic profile and other characteristics. Result showed that households of lower socio-economic status were the most vulnerable to air pollution and its consequences.PRIFPRI3; DCA; CRP4PHND; A4NHCGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH
A quasi-experimental evaluation of a nutrition behavior change intervention delivered through women’s self-help groups in rural India: Impacts on maternal and young child diets, anthropometry and intermediate outcomes
No full textBackground: Women's self-help groups (SHGs) have become one of the largest institutional platforms serving the poor. Nutrition behavior change communication (BCC) interventions delivered through SHGs may improve maternal and child nutrition outcomes.
Objective: To understand the effects of a nutrition BCC intervention delivered through SHGs in rural India on intermediate outcomes and nutrition outcomes.
Methods: We compared 16 matched blocks where communities were supported to form SHGs and improve livelihoods; 8 blocks received a 3-year nutrition intensive (NI) intervention with nutrition BCC, agriculture- and rights-based information, facilitated by a trained female volunteer; another 8 blocks received standard activities (STD) to support savings/livelihoods. Repeated cross-sectional surveys of mother-child pairs were conducted in 2017-18 (n = 1609 pairs) and 2019-20 (n = 1841 pairs). We matched treatment groups over time and applied difference-in-difference regression models to estimate impacts on intermediate outcomes (knowledge, income, agriculture/livelihoods, rights, empowerment) and nutrition outcomes (child feeding, woman's diet, woman and child anthropometry). Analyses were repeated on households with at least one SHG member.
Results: 40% of women were SHG members and 50% were from households with at least one SHG member. Only 10% of women in NI blocks had heard of intervention content at endline. Knowledge improved in both NI and STD groups. There was a positive NI impact on knowledge of timely introduction of animal sourced foods to children (p<0.05) but not on other intermediate outcomes. No impacts were observed for anthropometry or diet indicators except child animal source food consumption (p<0.01). In households with at least one SHG member, there was a positive NI impact on child unhealthy food consumption (p<0.05).
Conclusions: Limited impacts may be due to limited exposure or skills of volunteers, and a concurrent national nutrition campaign. Our findings add to a growing literature on SHG-based BCC interventions and the conditions necessary for their success.PRIFPRI3; Women Improving Nutrition through Group-based Strategies (WINGS); DCA; 2 Promoting Healthy Diets and Nutrition for all; G Cross-cutting gender theme; POSHANPHND; SA
sj-docx-1-cho-10.1177_18632521231211644 – Supplemental material for Intercostal Nerve Transfer for Biceps Reinnervation in Obstetrical Brachial Plexus Palsy: A Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis for Individual Patient Data Systematic Review using Individualized Fusion and Comparison to Supraclavicular Exploration and Nerve Grafting
No full textSupplemental material, sj-docx-1-cho-10.1177_18632521231211644 for Intercostal Nerve Transfer for Biceps Reinnervation in Obstetrical Brachial Plexus Palsy: A Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis for Individual Patient Data Systematic Review using Individualized Fusion and Comparison to Supraclavicular Exploration and Nerve Grafting by George Abdelmalek, George Ehab Mina, Krittika Pant, Zheshi Zheng, Jasmine Mahajan, Nivetha Srinivasan, Shivani Gupta, Jasmine Shafei, Michael F Levidy, Aleksandra McGrath and Alice Chu in Journal of Children’s Orthopaedics</p
A women's group-based nutrition behavior change intervention in India has limited impacts amidst implementation barriers and a concurrent national behavior change campaign
No full textObjectives: Women's self-help groups (SHGs) have become one of the world's largest institutional platforms of the poor, reaching over 70 million Indian women in 2020. Limited evidence exists on effects of nutrition interventions through SHGs on maternal and child nutrition outcomes.
Methods: The Women Improving Nutrition through Group-based Strategies (WINGS) study was a quasi-experimental impact evaluation, comparing 16 matched blocks where communities were provided support to form SHGs and improve women's livelihoods; 8 blocks (1 in each matched pair) received a 3-year nutrition intervention (NI) with nutrition education, agriculture- and rights-based information, facilitated by a trained female volunteer; the other 8 blocks received standard activities (STD) to support savings & livelihoods. We conducted repeated cross-sectional surveys of mother-child pairs in 2017–18 (n = 1609 pairs) and 2019–20 (n = 1841 pairs). We matched treatment groups over time and applied difference-in-difference (DID) regression models to estimate NI impacts. Outcomes were knowledge domains (nutrition for pregnant women, breastfeeding, complementary feeding, child health), child feeding (e.g., early breastfeeding initiation, dietary diversity, animal source food (ASF) consumption), woman's diets, woman's BMI and child anthropometry. Matching covariates included woman, child, and community characteristics.
Results: About 40% of women were SHG members. Nutrition intervention exposure was low; only ∼10% of NI women had heard of intervention content at endline. There were large improvements in women's knowledge in both groups. DID estimation revealed a positive NI impact on knowledge of timely introduction of ASFs to children (P < 0.05), but knowledge of nutrition for pregnant women unexpectedly improved more in the STD group (P < 0.05). No impacts were observed for any anthropometry or diet indicators except child ASF consumption (P < 0.01).
Conclusions: Limited impacts on nutrition outcomes may be due to limited exposure, low motivation or skills of volunteers, and a concurrent national nutrition behavior change program targeting mothers and children in all study areas. Our findings add to a growing literature on SHG-based behavior change interventions and the conditions necessary for their success.Non-PRIFPRI5; Women Improving Nutrition through Group-based Strategies (WINGS); CRP4PHND; A4NHCGIAR Research Programs on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH
A nutrition behaviour change intervention delivered through women's self-help groups in India is protective against depression and reduces time spent in market work
No full textObjectives: Women's self-help groups (SHGs), which operate at large scale in India, are an important platform for delivering behaviour change communication (BCC) and social support interventions to rural women. Little is known about how such group-based interventions affect women's mental health and time use.
Methods: The Women Improving Nutrition through Group-based Strategies (WINGS) study was a quasi-experimental impact evaluation, comparing 16 blocks (8 matched pairs) with SHG formation support; 8 blocks received a 3-year nutrition intervention (NI) with BCC topics such as nutrition, home-gardens and women's well-being, facilitated by a trained female volunteer; the other 8 received standard activities (STD) to support savings & livelihoods. We conducted repeated cross-sectional surveys of mother-child pairs in 2017–18 (n = 1609) and 2019–20 (n = 1841). We matched treatment groups over time and applied difference-in-difference (DID) regression models to estimate NI impacts. Outcomes assessed: (1) common mental disorder symptoms (CMD) (Self Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ) score, 8 or higher) and (2) time use, constructed using 24-hour recall data. Time indicators were the proportion of time spent on productive work (employed, agricultural work), reproductive work (cooking, caring for children etc.), and time spent on social-leisure activities (hobbies, socializing).
Results: Overall, women were 25 years old with 5 years of education and worked 10.7 hours/day. CMD were reported by 17% of women. DID estimates showed that CMD prevalence doubled over time among women in STD areas but did not change in NI areas (P < 0.01). Compared to STD areas, women in NI areas reported a larger decrease in time spent on productive work (DID: −5 percentage points (pp); P < 0.01) and larger increases in time spent on reproductive work (DID: +5 pp; P < 0.01) and on social-leisure activities (DID: +22 minutes, P < 0.01).
Conclusions: A BCC intervention delivered through SHGs in rural India protected against a secular trend in declining mental health and shifted women's time from market work to domestic and social-leisure activities. These findings add to a growing evidence base on the effectiveness of group-based interventions to improve women's wellbeing in developing countries.Non-PRIFPRI5; Women Improving Nutrition through Group-based Strategies (WINGS); CRP4PHND; A4NHCGIAR Research Programs on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH
If only I knew: Nutrition behavior change delivered by women's groups has impacts on diet quality that are mediated by knowledge in rural Bihar, India
No full textPoor diets are a major challenge in India. Barriers to improving diets include limited knowledge, access to resources and availability of affordable nutritious foods. Bihar, a poor state in India, has scaled up women's savings and credit self-help group (SHG) programs state-wide to improve livelihoods and access to resources. SHGs are now being leveraged to integrate health and nutrition discussions into their activities but rigorous evidence on the impact of integration is limited.Non-PRIFPRI5; CRP4; Women Improving Nutrition through Group-based Strategies (WINGS)PHND; A4NHCGIAR Research Programs on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH
Learning together: Experimental evidence on the impact of group-based nutrition interventions in rural Bihar
No full textDespite improvements over the last decade or more, India still accounts for a large proportion of the global prevalence of maternal and child undernutrition. We use a cluster-randomized controlled design and two waves of panel data on more than 2000 households from Bihar to analyse the impact on diet quality and anthropometry of a health and nutrition intervention delivered through an at-scale women’s self-help group (SHGs) platform. We find that the intervention had small but significant impacts on women and children’s dietary diversity, with the main impacts coming from an increase in the consumption of fruits and vegetables and dairy, however, it had no impact on women’s body mass index. We identify several potential pathways to impact. To the extent that SHGs can effect broad-based social change, their current reach to millions of women makes them a powerful platform for accelerating improvements in maternal and child health and nutrition outcomes.Non-PRIFPRI1; CRP4; 1 Fostering Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Food Supply; 2 Promoting Healthy Diets and Nutrition for all; 3 Building Inclusive and Efficient Markets, Trade Systems, and Food Industry; G Cross-cutting gender theme; Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture IndexPHND; A4NHCGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH
JEEViKA Multisectoral Convergence Initiative in Bihar: Engaging women’s groups to improve nutrition: Summary report
No full textJEEViKA is a program by the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society (part of the Department of Rural Development), with the support of the World Bank. It targets women in poor rural households, helping them improve their livelihoods and enhance household incomes through a core set of interventions: organizing the women into self-help groups (SHGs), training and strengthening the SHGs, federating the SHGs into village organizations (VOs) and cluster-level federations (CLFs), and establishing bank linkages for the SHGs and their federations. Over time, these groups can become membership-based social service providers, business entities, and valued clients of the formal banking system.Non-PRIFPRI5; CRP4PHND; A4NHCGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH
Engaging women’s groups to improve nutrition: Findings from an evaluation of the Jeevika multisectoral convergence pilot in Saharsa, Bihar
No full textThis report presents the endline findings of an impact evaluation of the JEEViKA Multisectoral Convergence pilot, designed as an effectiveness trial, in one district in Bihar, India. JEEViKA, a rural livelihoods project, supports self-help groups (SHGs) - savings and credit-based groups of about 15-20 women, mostly targeted toward those from poor households - with the aim of improving their livelihoods and enhancing household incomes. The JEEViKA Multisectoral Convergence (JEEViKA-MC) pilot went a step further, leveraging these SHGs to address the immediate and underlying determinants of undernutrition among women and children. The multisectoral convergence model, developed by the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society with technical support from the World Bank, was piloted in 12 Gram Panchayats of Saharsa district in Bihar. Two complementary sets of interventions-health and nutrition behavior change communication (BCC) to improve women’s knowledge and household practices, and efforts to improve service access through convergence -were layered onto the existing core package of JEEViKA activities and were targeted to women who were members of the SHGs already formed by JEEViKA. Within this target population, households with young children, mothers of young children, and pregnant women were the primary focus of the JEEViKA-MC pilot.Non-PRIFPRI5; CRP4PHND; A4NHCGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH
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