Assessing the Impact of an Educational HIV Prevention Intervention in Zambia
| Status: | Completed |
|---|---|
| Conditions: | HIV / AIDS |
| Therapuetic Areas: | Immunology / Infectious Diseases |
| Healthy: | No |
| Age Range: | 14 - 22 |
| Updated: | 2/2/2019 |
| Start Date: | March 16, 2017 |
| End Date: | December 2, 2017 |
In Zambia, 13% of the 15 to 49 year old population lives with HIV. The highest number of new
HIV infections is among young people. To counter the spread of the disease, developmental and
governmental actors are increasingly relying on educational behavior change tools. A
particularly widely used tool, implemented by the German Development Corporation (henceforth,
GIZ), is the so-called "Join-In-Circuit on AIDS, Love Sexuality" (JIC). The tool aims to
improve a) HIV and sexual reproductive health knowledge, b) HIV testing uptake, and c) demand
for health services. Previous research has investigated the direct effect of the JIC on
knowledge about Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) as well as self-reported sexual
behavior in Zimbabwe, and has found positive effects in both domains.
The research project evaluates the JIC in Zambia. The study randomly assigns 170
participating schools to five different JIC treatment arms. The first two arms represent
control schools. Here, no JIC will be implemented. The third arm implements the JIC among a
random subset of students. The fourth arm implements the JIC among indegree central students.
The fifth arm implements the JIC among edge betweeness central students. In each school, the
JIC will be implemented in one pre-determined grade. Within each school at least 30 students
will be selected. For larger schools, 20 percent of students in the selected grade are
selected.
HIV infections is among young people. To counter the spread of the disease, developmental and
governmental actors are increasingly relying on educational behavior change tools. A
particularly widely used tool, implemented by the German Development Corporation (henceforth,
GIZ), is the so-called "Join-In-Circuit on AIDS, Love Sexuality" (JIC). The tool aims to
improve a) HIV and sexual reproductive health knowledge, b) HIV testing uptake, and c) demand
for health services. Previous research has investigated the direct effect of the JIC on
knowledge about Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) as well as self-reported sexual
behavior in Zimbabwe, and has found positive effects in both domains.
The research project evaluates the JIC in Zambia. The study randomly assigns 170
participating schools to five different JIC treatment arms. The first two arms represent
control schools. Here, no JIC will be implemented. The third arm implements the JIC among a
random subset of students. The fourth arm implements the JIC among indegree central students.
The fifth arm implements the JIC among edge betweeness central students. In each school, the
JIC will be implemented in one pre-determined grade. Within each school at least 30 students
will be selected. For larger schools, 20 percent of students in the selected grade are
selected.
The study's population is schools in the Choma and Livingstone provinces of Zambia (a final
set of 170 schools). The schools were provided by the Zambian Ministry of Education. The
schools are split between primary (grade 1 to 7) and secondary schools (grade 8 to 12). In
order to not interfere with exam periods, the Ministry of General Education and GIZ decided
to implement the JIC among children in grade 6 in primary schools, and grade 11 in secondary
schools.
On average, the schools have 80 students and 74 percent of the sample are in Choma. 88
percent of schools are considered rural, i.e., they do not lie in a major town. 4 percent of
the sample have received a JIC before.
The 170 schools were randomly assigned to one of five treatment conditions.
- Control 1 (No intervention) (34 schools)
- Control 2 (No intervention) (34 schools)
- Treatment 1 (Random selection) (34 of schools)
- Treatment 2 (Indegree centrality) (34 of schools)
- Treatment 3 (Betweenness centrality) (34 of schools)
The Columbia University (CU) team advised GIZ on the design of the study, and the
intervention will be solely run by GIZ. The CU team is not involved in the implementation of
the study. Data will be collected by the American Institutes of Research (AIR). The CU team
will only analyze fully de-identified data produced by the study.
set of 170 schools). The schools were provided by the Zambian Ministry of Education. The
schools are split between primary (grade 1 to 7) and secondary schools (grade 8 to 12). In
order to not interfere with exam periods, the Ministry of General Education and GIZ decided
to implement the JIC among children in grade 6 in primary schools, and grade 11 in secondary
schools.
On average, the schools have 80 students and 74 percent of the sample are in Choma. 88
percent of schools are considered rural, i.e., they do not lie in a major town. 4 percent of
the sample have received a JIC before.
The 170 schools were randomly assigned to one of five treatment conditions.
- Control 1 (No intervention) (34 schools)
- Control 2 (No intervention) (34 schools)
- Treatment 1 (Random selection) (34 of schools)
- Treatment 2 (Indegree centrality) (34 of schools)
- Treatment 3 (Betweenness centrality) (34 of schools)
The Columbia University (CU) team advised GIZ on the design of the study, and the
intervention will be solely run by GIZ. The CU team is not involved in the implementation of
the study. Data will be collected by the American Institutes of Research (AIR). The CU team
will only analyze fully de-identified data produced by the study.
Inclusion Criteria:
- Students must be enrolled in the selected grade in one of the study schools and
present on the day of the interview (for piloting) or on the day of baseline and
endline (for main evaluation)
- Students must have informed consent
- Students must speak English or Tonga
Exclusion Criteria:
- There are no exclusion criteria within the pre-defined schools
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