SynthesisBMJ global health2022
Impact of conditional and unconditional cash transfers on health outcomes and use of health services in humanitarian settings: a mixed-methods systematic review.
Synthesis in BMJ global health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
23 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 46 citations in OpenAlex.
- Do Cash Transfer Programmes Affect Child Anaemia? Results From a Meta-Analysis.Maternal & child nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- Health system strengthening in fragile and conflict-affected states: A review of systematic reviews.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Health system strengthening in fragile and conflict-affected states: A review of systematic reviews.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Effects of Nutrition Counselling and Unconditional Cash Transfer on Child Growth and Family Food Security in Internally Displaced Person Camps in Somalia-A Quasi-Experimental Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- Public health interventions for Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in humanitarian emergencies: an overview of systematic reviews.BMC public health · 2026Review
- Nutritional Status of Children 0-59 Months Old and Household Enrollment in theActa medica Philippina · 2026Article
- A qualitative study on gendered wash insecurity and health outcomes among internally displaced populations in conflict-affected context.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Exploring the role of cash-based interventions in alleviating food insecurity among the forcibly displaced: the case of Rohingya refugees, Bangladesh.Conflict and health · 2025Article
- Expanding the evidence on integration of cash assistance in gender-based violence case management in humanitarian settings: lessons learned from multi-country evaluations.Conflict and health · 2025Article
- Protecting child and adolescent mental health in an uncertain future: commentary on Jaffee and colleagues' Annual Research Review - 'Cash transfer programs and young people's mental health: a review of studies in the United States'.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2025Review
- A qualitative analysis of unintended effects of a digital conditional cash transfer intervention to encourage healthcare utilization in Southern Madagascar.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Guaranteed income and health in the United States and Canada: a scoping review.Epidemiologic reviews · 2025Article
- Financial incentives for family members of hospitalized neonates for improving family presence.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Article
- Integrating mental health and psychosocial support into economic inclusion programming for displaced families in Ecuador.Conflict and health · 2024Article
- A longitudinal study on impact of emergency cash transfer payments during the COVID pandemic on coping among Australian young adults.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Attitudes toward dementia and cognitive aging among Syrian refugees resettled in Jordan: a qualitative study.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Experiences of conditional and unconditional cash transfers intended for improving health outcomes and health service use: a qualitative evidence synthesis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Review
- An Unconditional Cash Transfer Program for Low-Income New Yorkers Affected by COVID-19.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2023Article
- COVID-19 lockdowns and children's health and well-being.Journal Of Economic Psychology · 2022Article
- Addressing the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan through $10 billion Afghani assets: what are the challenges and opportunities at hand?Globalization and health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 8 institutions in 6 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCash transfers, payments provided by formal or informal institutions to recipients, are increasingly used in emergencies. While increasing autonomy and being supportive of local economies, cash transfers are a cost-effective method in some settings to cover basic needs and extend benefits of limited humanitarian aid budgets. Yet, the extent to which cash transfers impact health in humanitarian settings remains largely unexplored. This systematic review evaluates the evidence on the effect of cash transfers on health outcomes and health service utilisation in humanitarian contexts.
methodsStudies eligible for inclusion were peer reviewed (quantitative,qualitative and mixed-methods). Nine databases (PubMed, EMBAS, Medline, CINAHL, Global Health, Scopus, Web of Science Core Collection, SciELO and LiLACS) were searched without language and without a lower bound time restriction through 24 February 2021. The search was updated to include articles published through 8 December 2021. Data were extracted using a piloted extraction tool and quality was assessed using The Joanna Briggs Critical Appraisal Tool. Due to heterogeneity in study designs and outcomes, results were synthesised narratively and no meta-analysis was performed.
results30 673 records were identified. After removing duplicates, 17 715 were double screened by abstract and title, and 201 in full text. Twenty-three articles from 16 countries were included reporting on nutrition outcomes, psychosocial and mental health, general/subjective health and well-being, acute illness (eg, diarrhoea, respiratory infection), diabetes control (eg, blood glucose self-monitoring, haemoglobin A1C levels) and gender-based violence. Nineteen studies reported some positive impacts on various health outcomes and use of health services, 11 reported no statistically significant impact on outcomes assessed and 4 reported potential negative impacts on health outcomes. DISCUSSION: Although there is evidence to suggest a positive relationship between cash transfers and health outcomes in humanitarian settings, high-quality empirical evidence, that is methodologically robust, investigates a range of humanitarian settings and is conducted over longer time periods is needed. This should consider factors influencing programme implementation and the differential impact of cash transfers designed to improve health versus multipurpose cash transfers. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42021237275.
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