ArticlePLOS global public health2025
Using a cash transfer plus SMS nudge package to improve the wellbeing among caregivers of adolescents living with HIV during the COVID-19 epidemic in South Africa: A pilot randomised controlled trial.
Article in PLOS global public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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
1 citing paper in PubMed.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Caregivers of adolescents living with HIV encounter multiple economic and psycho-social challenges which impair their wellbeing and provision of optimal care. Cash transfers combined with short message service (SMS) nudges may address the financial and mental barriers to caregiver wellbeing in sub-Saharan Africa. We examined the preliminary effectiveness and feasibility outcomes of this multipronged approach for improving caregiver wellbeing. We piloted the Caregiver Wellbeing intervention in the eThekwini municipality, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the following groups: (i) the intervention arm (n = 50) received three cash payments (of ZAR 350, approximately 21 USD), coupled with behaviourally-informed mobile SMS nudges over a 3-month period; (ii) the control arm (n = 50) received a standard SMS encouraging linkage to health services. The primary outcome was change in psychological wellbeing at four-months follow-up. Secondary outcomes were changes in depressive symptoms and caregiver burden scores, recruitment pace, retention, uptake, acceptability and costs. Trial Registraion Number: PACTR202203585402090. The n = 100 caregivers (mean age = 42.3 years, 87% female) enrolled at baseline were recruited within six weeks. Compared to controls, there was a non-significant increase in psychological wellbeing (β = 3.14, p = 0.319). There was a 1.32 unit (p = 0.085) decrease in depressive symptoms and a reduction in caregiver burden (β = -1.28, p = 0.020) in the intervention arm. Participant retention was 85%, with high intervention uptake (95%). Caregivers expressed appreciation for the intervention as the cash component allowed them to fulfil their carer responsibilities and the SMS brought a sense of belonging and self-acceptance. Total societal cost of the intervention was US$13,549, and the incremental cost per increase in wellbeing score was US$1,080. Results suggest a cash transfer plus SMS nudge package, whilst feasible and acceptable, may require longer duration and an economic empowerment component to enhance caregiver wellbeing as part of post-pandemic recovery efforts.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.