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Completed

NCT Number: NCT04081441

Impacts of Clean Cookstoves and Empowerment Training on Women's Health in Refugee Settings

The main objective of this study is to understand the links and outcomes of adoption of a cleaner cookstove/fuel and exposure to a personal empowerment training on women's health outcomes in a Congolese refugee camp in Rwanda, with a focus on gender-based violence (GBV).

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Key information

Conditions

Gender-Based Violence Adherence Behavior Behavioral Symptoms Depression Empowerment Food Insecurity Mental Health Wellness 1 Relationship, Family Social Behavior

Age range

18 year–45 year

Sex eligibility

Female

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Plan International, Rwanda

Kacyiru, Kigali, KG 546ST1, Rwanda

About this study

This randomized controlled trial examines the impacts of a phased-in integrated technology -behavior change intervention on women's health with a focus on gender-based violence. In a population of approximately 1500 Congolese households in Kigeme refugee camp in Rwanda, two interventions are randomly deployed in the camp. The first intervention is the Inyenyeri cookstove/pellet fuel system, a Tier 4 clean cookstove system; the second intervention is a behavior change intervention (referred to as I-ACT, Individual-Agency-Centered Training) designed to foster personal agency and empowerment, given to women and, if applicable, their male partner. Analyses will be done with interviews on 1500 women (ages 18-45) from these households that may have received one, both or none of the interventions, either as the full sample or the sub-sample of partnered-only women.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Study participants are between the ages of 18 years - 45 years of age
  • Reported as currently living in a refugee camp with no intention to relocate
  • Has lived in any refugee camp for at least 1 year and can be interviewed in private
  • Has the ability to give informed consent

Exclusion criteria

  • Inability to provide informed consent
  • Individuals having evidence of significant illness and/or are not able to engage fully in the surveys
  • Women younger than 18 or over 45 years of age
  • Those who have not lived continuously in a refugee camp setting for the past 12 months
  • If two or more women live in a household, only one of these will be included in the study. The one responsible for fuel purchase/collection will be selected. If more than one woman is responsible for fuel collection, we will randomly choose one woman to participate in the study.

Treatment and study plan

Inyenyeri clean cookstove and fuel system

Device

The Inyenyeri cooking systems includes a tier 4 clean cooking system with biomass pellets that are purchased through the unconditional cash transfer program in the refugee camp

I-ACT (Individual, Agency-Centered Training) workshop

Behavioral

The I-ACT (Individual, Agency-Centered Training) empowerment workshop consists of behavioral exercises drawn primarily from positive psychology, that provide the tools to foster a growth mindset by allowing participants to understand the link between their thoughts, beliefs, and past actions to their future actions. Conducted in a workshop setting, this locally adapted version of the I-ACT curriculum consists of two days for women and a 1 day workshop for their male partners (as applicable)

Primary outcomes

  1. Rates of gender-based violence

    Time frame: 6 months

    Change in gender-based violence (GBV) over time as assessed through an adapted ASIST-GBV screening tool to identify physical violence, sexual violence, harassment, emotional violence and reproductive coercion between non-partners and intimate partners in humanitarian settings.

  2. Number of households reporting uptake and consistent use of clean cooking system and fuel

    Time frame: 6 months

    Change in uptake and use of the clean cooking system as measured through pellet purchase and reported pellet use behavior

  3. Number of participants reporting minor psychiatric disorders

    Time frame: 6 months

    Changes in the number of participants reporting minor psychiatric disorders as determined by the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) as a result of the empowerment intervention.

  4. Number of participants reporting anxiety and depression

    Time frame: 6 months

    Changes in the number of participants reporting anxiety and depression as determined by the Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL) as a result of the empowerment intervention.

  5. Number of participants reporting emotional symptoms of trauma

    Time frame: 6 months

    Changes in the number of participants reporting emotional symptoms of trauma as determined by the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) as a result of the empowerment intervention.

  6. Number of participants reporting increased economic and social empowerment

    Time frame: 6 months

    Change in rates of reported uptake of economic activities (such as small businesses or savings) as well as participation in social groups and local training programs

  7. Number of participants reporting reduced food insecurity

    Time frame: 6 months

    Change in reported incidence and severity of food insecurity as determined through a culturally adapted modification of the food insecurity experience scale (FIES) associated with food-related distress during the past month

  8. Number of participants reporting increased self-efficacy

    Time frame: 6 months

    Changes in self-efficacy (as assessed by the New General Self-Efficacy Scale) as a result of the empowerment intervention.

  9. Number of participants reporting increased grit

    Time frame: 6 months

    Changes in grit (Grit scale (Duckworth, et al)) as a result of the empowerment intervention.

  10. Number of participants reporting increased social agency

    Time frame: 6 months

    Changes in social agency (as assessed by Ryff's psychological well-being scales) as a result of the empowerment intervention.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Number of participants reporting increased quality and quantity of social networks

    Time frame: 6 months

    Changes in quality of social networks in the form of network size, network density and stove homophily resulting from either the empowerment training or the improved cookstove program as determined by reported social ties and characteristics of those social ties.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Other

Collaborators

  • Fundacion Plan International Espana
  • Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves
  • World Bank

Registry information

Official study title

Impacts of Clean Cookstoves/Efficient Fuels Uptake and Empowerment Trainings on Women's Health and Well Being in Humanitarian Settings in Rwanda

Important dates

Study start
2018
Primary completion
2019
Study completion
2020
First posted
Sep 9, 2019
Registry last updated
Aug 10, 2022

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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