Trial reportTrials2016
Effectiveness of a girls' empowerment programme on early childbearing, marriage and school dropout among adolescent girls in rural Zambia: study protocol for a cluster randomized trial.
Trial report in Trials, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials of School Based Interventions on Sexual Risk Behaviors and Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Young Adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa.AIDS and behavior · 2021Pooled it
- Lessons from an intervention study on the sustainability of after-school comprehensive sexuality education in Zambia: the perspectives of teachers, health workers and guardians.Reproductive health · 2024Trial
- Application of community dialogue approach to prevent adolescent pregnancy, early marriage and school dropout in Zambia: a case study.Reproductive health · 2022Trial
- Interviewing adolescent girls about sexual and reproductive health: a qualitative study exploring how best to ask questions in structured follow-up interviews in a randomized controlled trial in Zambia.Reproductive health · 2022Trial
- Economic support, education and sexual decision making among female adolescents in Zambia: a qualitative study.BMC public health · 2021Trial
- Acceptability of youth clubs focusing on comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education in rural Zambian schools: a case of Central Province.BMC health services research · 2020Trial
- Trial
- Drivers of child marriage in Eastern and Western provinces in Zambia and effective preventive interventions: Findings from a rapid document review and three stakeholder meetings.Reproductive health · 2026Review
- Factors associated with adolescent pregnancy in Zambia: a secondary data analysis of the 2018 Zambia demographic and health survey.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- The effects of early marriages on academic performance of marginalized girls in secondary schools of central province in Zambia.BMC public health · 2025Article
- How do gender transformative interventions reduce adolescent pregnancy in low- and middle-income countries: a realist synthesis.Journal of global health · 2025Review
- Effectiveness of economic support, comprehensive sexuality education and community dialogue on early childbearing and sitting for grade nine exams among adolescent girls in rural Zambia: a cluster randomised trial.EClinicalMedicine · 2024Article
- Distribution and determinants of early marriage and motherhood: a multilevel and geospatial analysis of 707 districts in India.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Being both a grandmother and a health worker: experiences of community-based health workers in addressing adolescents' sexual and reproductive health needs in rural Zambia.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Impact of cash transfer programs on healthcare utilization and catastrophic health expenditures in rural Zambia: a cluster randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in health services · 2024Article
- Experiences of teachers and community-based health workers in addressing adolescents' sexual reproductive health and rights problems in rural health systems: a case of the RISE project in Zambia.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Combining photo-elicitation and discourse analysis to examine adolescents' sexuality in rural Zambia.International journal for equity in health · 2022Article
- The development of adolescent agency and implications for reproductive choice among girls in Zambia.SSM - population health · 2022Article
- Observational
- Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
15 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAdolescent pregnancies pose a risk to the young mothers and their babies. In Zambia, 35% of young girls in rural areas have given birth by the age of 18 years. Pregnancy rates are particularly high among out-of-school girls. Poverty, low enrolment in secondary school, myths and community norms all contribute to early childbearing. This protocol describes a trial aiming to measure the effect on early childbearing rates in a rural Zambian context of (1) economic support to girls and their families, and (2) combining economic support with a community intervention to enhance knowledge about sexual and reproductive health and supportive community norms. METHODS/
designThis cluster randomized controlled trial (CRCT) will have three arms. The clusters are rural schools with surrounding communities. Approximately 4900 girls in grade 7 in 2016 will be recruited from 157 schools in 12 districts. In one intervention arm, participating girls and their guardians will be offered cash transfers and payment of school fees. In the second intervention arm, there will be both economic support and a community intervention. The interventions will be implemented for approximately 2 years. The final survey will be 4.5 years after recruitment. The primary outcomes will be "incidence of births within 8 months of the end of the intervention period", "incidence of births before girls' 18th birthday" and "proportion of girls who sit for the grade 9 exam". Final survey interviewers will be unaware of the intervention status of respondents. Analysis will be by intention-to-treat and adjusted for cluster design and confounders. Qualitative process evaluation will be conducted. DISCUSSION: This is the first CRCT to measure the effect of combining economic support with a community intervention to prevent adolescent childbearing in a low- or middle-income country. We have designed a programme that will be sustainable and feasible to scale up. The findings will be relevant for programmes for adolescent reproductive health in Zambia and similar contexts.
trial registrationISRCTN registry: ISRCTN12727868 , (4 March 2016).
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