IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ucd/wpaper/201702.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Impact of a text messaging program on adolescent reproductive health: A cluster–randomized trial in Ghana

Author

Listed:
  • Slawa Rokicki

    (Interfaculty Initiative in Health Policy, Harvard University; Geary Institute for Public Policy, University College Dublin)

  • Jessica Cohen

    (Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health)

  • Joshua A. Salomon

    (Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health)

  • Günther Fink

    (Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health)

Abstract

Objectives. To evaluate whether text-messaging programs can improve reproductive health among adolescent girls in low- and middle-income countries. Methods. We conducted a cluster–randomized controlled trial among 756 female students aged 14 to 24 years in Accra, Ghana, in 2014. We randomized 38 schools to unidirectional intervention (n=12), interactive intervention (n=12), and control (n=14). The unidirectional intervention sent participants text messages with reproductive health information. The interactive intervention engaged adolescents in text-messaging reproductive health quiz games. The primary study outcome was reproductive health knowledge at 3 and 15 months. Additional outcomes included self-reported pregnancy and sexual behavior. Analysis was by intent-to-treat. Results. From baseline to 3 months, the unidirectional intervention increased knowledge by 11 percentage points (95% confidence interval [CI]=7, 15) and the interactive intervention by 24 percentage points (95% CI=19, 28), from a control baseline of 26%. Although we found no changes in reproductive health outcomes overall, both unidirectional (odds ratio [OR]=0.14; 95% CI=0.03, 0.71) and interactive interventions (OR=0.15; 95% CI=0.03, 0.86) lowered odds of self-reported pregnancy for sexually active participants. Conclusions. Text-messaging programs can lead to large improvements in reproductive health knowledge and have the potential to lower pregnancy risk for sexually active adolescent girls.

Suggested Citation

  • Slawa Rokicki & Jessica Cohen & Joshua A. Salomon & Günther Fink, 2017. "Impact of a text messaging program on adolescent reproductive health: A cluster–randomized trial in Ghana," Working Papers 201702, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucd:wpaper:201702
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.ucd.ie/geary/static/publications/workingpapers/gearywp201702.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2017
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. World Bank, 2015. "The Little Data Book 2015," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 21635.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ditte S Linde & Malene Korsholm & Johnson Katanga & Vibeke Rasch & Andreas Lundh & Marianne S Andersen, 2019. "One-way SMS and healthcare outcomes in Africa: Systematic review of randomised trials with meta-analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(6), pages 1-18, June.
    2. Franklin I Onukwugha & Lesley Smith & Dan Kaseje & Charles Wafula & Margaret Kaseje & Bev Orton & Mark Hayter & Monica Magadi, 2022. "The effectiveness and characteristics of mHealth interventions to increase adolescent’s use of Sexual and Reproductive Health services in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(1), pages 1-18, January.
    3. Joël Cariolle & David A Carroll, 2022. "The Use of Digital for Public Service Provision in Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers hal-03004535, HAL.
    4. Melissa Hidrobo & Giordano Palloni & Daniel O. Gilligan & Jenny C. Aker & Natasha Ledlie, 2022. "Paying for Digital Information: Assessing Farmers’ Willingness to Pay for a Digital Agriculture and Nutrition Service in Ghana," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 70(4), pages 1367-1402.
    5. Tomomi Tanaka, 2019. "Human Capital Development in Ghana," World Bank Publications - Reports 34181, The World Bank Group.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Muhammad Subtain Raza & Muhammad Fayyaz & Nida Syed, 2015. "Overview of Financial Inclusion in Pakistan," International Journal of Management Sciences, Research Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 6(12), pages 572-581.
    2. Annick Pamen Nyola & Alain Sauviat & Amine Tarazi, 2022. "How does regulation affect the organizational form of foreign banks' presence in developing versus developed countries?," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(2), pages 2367-2419, April.
    3. Annick Pamen Nyola & Alain Sauviat & Amine Tarazi, 2017. "How Does Regulation Affect the Organizational Form of Banks' Presence in Developing and Developed Countries?," Working Papers hal-01369658, HAL.
    4. Timilsina, Govinda R. & Shah, Kalim U., 2016. "Filling the gaps: Policy supports and interventions for scaling up renewable energy development in Small Island Developing States," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 653-662.
    5. Sibel Kusimba, 2018. "“It is easy for women to ask!†: Gender and digital finance in Kenya," Economic Anthropology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(2), pages 247-260, June.
    6. Lars Carlsen, 2017. "An Alternative View on Distribution Keys for the Possible Relocation of Refugees in the European Union," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 130(3), pages 1147-1163, February.
    7. Valentina Rotondi & Francesco C. Billari, 2022. "Mobile Money and School Participation: Evidence from Africa," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(1), pages 343-362, February.
    8. Araz Taeihagh, 2017. "Crowdsourcing, Sharing Economies and Development," Journal of Developing Societies, , vol. 33(2), pages 191-222, June.
    9. Ngasuko, Tri Achya, 2018. "Faktor Yang Mempengaruhi Rumah Tangga Untuk Mengakses Lembaga Keuangan Formal: Studi Kasus Susenas 2015 [Determinant Factor For Household To Access Formal Financial Institution: The Study Case Suse," MPRA Paper 97995, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Ngasuko, Tri Achya, 2018. "Tantangan Ekonomi di Era Digital [Economic Challenges in the Digital Era]," MPRA Paper 99538, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 01 Apr 2018.
    11. Ngasuko, Tri Achya, 2016. "Peningkatan Keuangan Inklusif Melalui Bantuan Sosial Nontunai [Increasing Financial Inclusion Through Non-cash Social Assistance]," MPRA Paper 99134, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 01 Oct 2016.
    12. Valentina Rotondi & Francesco Billari, 2017. "Mobile Money and School Participation: Evidence from Low Income Countries," Working Papers 109, "Carlo F. Dondena" Centre for Research on Social Dynamics (DONDENA), Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi.
    13. Ströh de Martínez, Christiane & Feddersen, Marietta & Speicher, Anna, 2016. "Food security in sub-Saharan Africa: a fresh look on agricultural mechanisation. How adapted financial solutions can make a difference," IDOS Studies, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), volume 91, number 91, March.
    14. Seif, Mostafa & Docherty, Paul & Shamsuddin, Abul, 2017. "Seasonal anomalies in advanced emerging stock markets," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 169-181.
    15. Uhunamure, S.E. & Nethengwe, N.S. & Tinarwo, D., 2019. "Correlating the factors influencing household decisions on adoption and utilisation of biogas technology in South Africa," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 264-273.
    16. Francisco G Dakila Jr, 2020. "The development of financial markets in the Philippines and its interaction with monetary policy and financial stability," BIS Papers chapters, in: Bank for International Settlements (ed.), Financial market development, monetary policy and financial stability in emerging market economies, volume 113, pages 219-242, Bank for International Settlements.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    reproductive health; sexual education; adolescent health; mobile health; text messaging; global health;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ucd:wpaper:201702. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Geary Tech (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/geucdie.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.