Evaluations

Researchers are evaluating the effect of improving communal toilet facilities, and implementing innovative systems for facility maintenance, on the use of community toilets in Orissa, India.

Researchers evaluated the impact impact of both general exposure to mass media and an intensive family planning campaign on contraception. Increasing exposure to general mass media reduced contraception use in this context. However, a high-quality family planning radio campaign offset the negative...

Researchers introduced a Voluntary HIV Counseling and Testing (VCT) program to young females in Malawi to determine whether the program affects risky sexual behavior and school performance. They found no overall effect of VCT on risk of sexually transmitted infections or achievement test scores...

In partnership with Jacaranda Health, researchers evaluated a family planning program that provided pregnant women with varying combinations of vouchers for free modern contraception and reminders of the importance of family planning. While none of the combinations increased self-reported use of...

Can television shows change how people think and act? In Nigeria, researchers evaluated the impact of MTV Shuga, a drama featuring educational storylines about HIV/AIDS on viewers’ sexual knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. The study shows that exposure to MTV Shuga improved viewers’ knowledge and...

In Cameroon, researchers evaluated the impact of various HIV prevention interventions delivered through schools on girls and young women’s exposure to risk. The interventions decreased the incidence of pregnancy (a marker for unprotected sex) in the following nine to twelve months by over 25 percent...

Researchers conducted a randomized evaluation to test the impact of offering frequent HIV testing on rates of marriage and pregnancy. Offering high-frequency, opt-out HIV testing to young women and their partners changed beliefs of partner’s sexual safety, accelerated marriage, and increased the...

Researchers tested whether reminders delivered via text message improved knowledge and adoption of social distancing and handwashing. They found no evidence that individuals changed their self-reported behaviors; this finding may highlight limited effectiveness of SMS-based information campaigns...