Author Interviews, Compliance, HIV, Lancet / 03.02.2016
Small Cash Transfers Encourage Mothers To Participate In AIDS Prevention Program
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr Marcel Yotebieng, PhD
Department of Epidemiology
Ohio State University, 304 Cunz Hall
Columbus, OH
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: With the current World Health Organization recommended treatment for the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT), the risk of transmission of HIV from an infected mother to her baby can be cut from 35-45% to less than 5% in breastfeeding population and <1% in non-breastfeeding population. But in sub-Saharan Africa where over 90% of HIV-infected pregnant women worldwide live, transportation costs and opportunity costs to attend regular clinic visits (to collect drugs) have been identified as important barriers to PMTCT. The provision of economic incentives has the potential to help women overcome these economic barriers. In addition, by creating immediate rewards that “nudge” individuals towards positive health behaviors, financial incentives can also address psychological barriers to health-seeking behavior of HIV-infected pregnant and breastfeeding women. This is the first study to use small cash incentives to encourage women to attend clinic visit and received available PMTCT care. We found that, among newly diagnosed HIV-infected women, small, incremental cash incentives resulted in increased retention along the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission cascade and uptake of available services.
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