SynthesisBMJ open2019
Is microfinance associated with changes in women's well-being and children's nutrition? A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 2 of them syntheses 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
15 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Systematic and Narrative Review of the Mediating Role of Personal Relationships Between Mental Health and Nutrition.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- Assessment of Microfinance Interventions and Intimate Partner Violence: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JAMA network open · 2023Pooled it
- Food insecurity is associated with greater difficulty accessing care among people living with HIV with or without comorbid non-communicable diseases in western Kenya.BMJ global health · 2024Trial
- Cost-effectiveness of group medical visits and microfinance interventions versus usual care to manage hypertension in Kenya: a secondary modelling analysis of data from the Bridging Income Generation with Group Integrated Care (BIGPIC) trial.The Lancet. Global health · 2024Trial
- Women's self-help group participation and discussion of reproductive coercion: Associations with past experiences of violence among family planning clients in Kenya.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Role of women's empowerment in determining fertility and reproductive health in Bangladesh: a systematic literature review.AJOG global reports · 2023Review
- How does women's empowerment relate to antenatal care attendance? A cross-sectional analysis among rural women in Bangladesh.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2023Article
- Women's Employment and Intimate Partner Violence: Understanding the Role of Individual and Community Structural Drivers in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.Journal of interpersonal violence · 2023Article
- Exploring the Factors Associated with Dietary Diversity of Children Aged 6-59 Months in Some Rural and Slum Areas of Bangladesh amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed-Effect Regression Analysis.Current developments in nutrition · 2022Article
- Household Microenvironment and Under-Fives Health Outcomes in Uganda: Focusing on Multidimensional Energy Poverty and Women Empowerment Indices.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Health Mothers' Groups in Nepal: Barriers, Facilitators, and Recommendations.Current developments in nutrition · 2022Article
- Article
- The Relationship Between Household Microfinance Group Participation and Vaccine Adherence Among Children in Rural Western Kenya.Maternal and child health journal · 2021Article
- Article
- Women's and girls' experiences of reproductive coercion and opportunities for intervention in family planning clinics in Nairobi, Kenya: a qualitative study.Reproductive health · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMicrofinance is the provision of savings and small loans services, with no physical collateral. Most recipients are disadvantaged women. The social and health impacts of microfinance have not been comprehensively evaluated.
objectiveTo explore the impact of microfinance on contraceptive use, female empowerment and children's nutrition in South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean.
designWe conducted a systematic search of published and grey literature (1990-2018), with no language restrictions. We conducted meta-analysis, where possible, to calculate pooled ORs. Where studies could not be combined, we described these qualitatively. DATA SOURCES: EMBASE, MEDLINE, LILACS, CENTRAL and ECONLIT were searched (1990-June 2018). ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: We included controlled trials, observational studies and panel data analyses investigating microfinance involving women and children. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Two independent reviewers extracted data and assessed risk of bias. The methodological quality of included studies was assessed using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies and a modified Newcastle Ottawa Scale for cross-sectional surveys and analyses of panel data. Meta-analyses were conducted using STATA V.15 (StataCorp).
resultsWe included 27 studies. Microfinance was associated with a 64% increase in the number of women using contraceptives (OR 1.64, 95% CI 1.45 to 1.86). We found mixed results for the association between microfinance and intimate partner violence. Some positive changes were noted in female empowerment. Improvements in children's nutrition were noted in three studies.
conclusionMicrofinance has the potential to generate changes in contraceptive use, female empowerment and children's nutrition. It was not possible to compare microfinance models due to the small numbers of studies. More rigorous evidence is needed to evaluate the association between microfinance and social and health outcomes. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42015026018.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.