Cash transfers to stimulate school re-enrollment among vulnerable adolescent girls in urban informal settlements as Kenya responds to COVID-19
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN12792822 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN12792822 |
| ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT) | Nil known |
| Clinical Trials Information System (CTIS) | Nil known |
| Protocol serial number | p661 |
| Sponsor | Population Council - Kenya |
| Funders | Echidna Giving, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, UK Aid - Kenya |
- Submission date
- 16/11/2020
- Registration date
- 18/11/2020
- Last edited
- 16/03/2021
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Other
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
Due to prolonged school closures and extreme household economic stress due to the COVID-19 pandemic, adolescent girls who were attending school in March 2020 are at high risk of not re-enrolling in school and losing key literacy and numeracy skills. The combination of household inability to pay school fees, teenage pregnancy, and prioritization of boys education have created a harmful environment for girls education.
Who can participate?
A former cohort of adolescent girls in two informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya, which was part of the Adolescent Girls Initiative-Kenya evaluation (ISRCTN77455458) will be leveraged to implement the cash transfer study.
What does the study involve?
This study will evaluate the effect of a one-time cash transfer of ~US$150 on school re-enrollment in Kenya. Households will receive the cash transfer the first week of January, when schools are scheduled to re-open after the COVID-19 closures. Households will be contacted in November and December 2020 to establish current details and payment avenues and then followed up in February 2021 to assess school enrollment approximately six weeks after the transfer is paid, and then again in July 2021.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
There are minimal benefits or risks to the participants in this study.
Where is the study run from?
Population Council (Kenya)
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
October 2020 to June 2021
Who is funding the study?
Echidna Giving (USA)
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (USA)
Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (UK)
Who is the main contact?
Dr. Karen Austrian, atkaustrian@popcouncil.org
Contact information
Scientific
Avenue 5
3rd Floor
Rose Avenue
PO Box 17643
Nairobi
00500
Kenya
 ORCID ID |
0000-0001-5464-7908 |
|---|---|
| Phone | +254-5134751 |
| kaustrian@popcouncil.org |
Study information
| Primary study design | Interventional |
|---|---|
| Study design | Individual randomized controlled trial |
| Secondary study design | Randomised controlled trial |
| Study type | Participant information sheet |
| Scientific title | The effect of cash transfers on school re-enrollment during COVID-19 among vulnerable girls in informal settlements in Kenya: a randomised controlled trial |
| Study objectives | A one time cash transfer paid to the household when schools re-open after the prolonged COVID-19 school closures will increase re-enrollment amongst adolescent girls |
| Ethics approval(s) | Approved 28/10/2020, Population Council IRB (1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA; +1 212 3277112; ngontarz@popcouncil.org), ref: p661 |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | Increasing school enrollment among adolescent girls after the long-term COVID-19 school closures |
| Intervention | Intervention arm: Households will receive a one-time cash transfer in January 2021 (the week that schools re-open for all students). The amount of the one-time transfer will be KES 16,000 (~$150). The funds will be paid into a bank account designated by the student’s parent/guardian. Control - no treatment An existing cohort that has five arms will be used. Half of each arm will be randomized into each arm. Participants in all study arms will be enrolled approximately six weeks before schools are currently set to open and will be followed up for an additional six weeks after schools open/the payment is made. Within the cohort there are five arms. Using a program in STATA, half of the eligible participants in each arm will be randomized to the treatment and half to the control |
| Intervention type | Behavioural |
| Primary outcome measure(s) |
School enrollment 6 weeks after the start of the school term measured by self-reported enrollment at baseline and 6 weeks after school re-opening |
| Key secondary outcome measure(s) |
1. School matriculation at any point in the 6 weeks since the start of the school term measured by self-reported enrollment 6 weeks after school re-opening |
| Completion date | 30/06/2021 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Healthy volunteer |
|---|---|
| Age group | Child |
| Sex | Female |
| Target sample size at registration | 1700 |
| Key inclusion criteria | 1. Interviewed in 2019 as part of AGI-K cohort 2. Had not reported completing secondary school in 2019 3. Not in the final year of secondary school in 2019 4. Attended school between 2017 and 2019 |
| Key exclusion criteria | Does not meet inclusion criteria |
| Date of first enrolment | 21/11/2020 |
| Date of final enrolment | 15/12/2020 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- Kenya
Study participating centre
Rose Avenue
PO Box 17643-00500
Nairobi
00500
Kenya
Results and Publications
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | No |
|---|---|
| IPD sharing plan summary | |
| IPD sharing plan | The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study will be stored in a publically available repository. The de-identified data will be stored in the Adolescent Data Hub. http://popcouncil.org/girlcenter/adolescentdatahub/ The data set from the follow up survey six weeks after the transfer will be made available at the time of the publication of the main results manuscript. The underlying data from the AGI-K cohort is already posted in that repository. The data will be available indefinitely. The person interested in the data will need to submit a request and so long as what they are proposing to do with the data isn’t overlapping with the study investigators ongoing research objectives, the data will be made available for downloading from the site. The consent forms for the study include language on de-identified data from the study being made available open access. |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Participant information sheet | Participant information sheet | 11/11/2025 | 11/11/2025 | No | Yes |
| Statistical Analysis Plan | 19/01/2021 | 19/01/2021 | No | No |
Additional files
- ISRCTN12792822_SAP_19Jan2021.pdf
- uploaded 19/01/2021
Editorial Notes
16/03/2021: Internal review.
19/01/2021: The statistical analysis plan was uploaded as an additional file.
18/11/2020: Trial’s existence confirmed by Population Council IRB.
