Cash transfer, maternal and child health outcomes: a scoping review in sub-Saharan Africa.

IF 2.2 3区医学 Q2 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH Global Health Action Pub Date : 2024-12-31 Epub Date: 2024-02-09 DOI:10.1080/16549716.2024.2309726

Emery L Ngamasana, Jessamyn Moxie

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Abstract

Background: Cash Transfer (CT) programmes can improve maternal and child health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. However, studies assessing the effectiveness of these programmes on maternal and child health outcomes (MCH), beyond nutritional outcomes and service utilisation, remain inconclusive.

Objectives: We synthesized current empirical evidence on the effectiveness of these programmes in improving MCH outcomes and suggested a framework for reporting such outcomes. We focused on sub-Saharan Africa because of substantial operational differences between regions, and the need for MCH advancement in this region.

Methods: This review searched PubMed Central and Google Scholar and supplemented it with a backward citation search for studies conducted in sub-Saharan Africa for the period between 2000 and 2021. Only peer-reviewed studies on CT that reported health outcomes beyond nutritional outcomes and service utilisation among women of reproductive age and children below 18 years old were included.

Results: Twenty-one articles reporting studies conducted in six sub-Saharan African countries were identified. All studies reported health outcome measures, and programmes targeted women of reproductive age and children under 18 years of age. Of the 21 articles, 1 reported measures of mortality, 13 reported measures of functional status; 3 reported subjective measures of well-being, and 4 reported behavioural health outcomes. Across all categories of reported measures, evidence emerges that cash transfer programmes improved some health outcomes (e.g. improved infant and child survival, reduced incidence of illnesses, improved cognitive and motor development, improved general health, delayed sexual debut, lower transactional sex, etc.), while in some of the studies, outcomes such as depression did not show significant improvements.

Conclusion: Cash Transfer programmes are effective and cost-effective, with a real potential to improve maternal and child health outcomes in sub-Saharan African countries. However, further research is needed to address implementation challenges, which include data collection, and programme management.

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现金转移、孕产妇和儿童健康成果：撒哈拉以南非洲的范围界定审查。

背景：现金转移（CT）计划可以改善中低收入国家的母婴健康状况。然而，除营养结果和服务利用率外，评估这些计划对母婴健康结果（MCH）的有效性的研究仍未得出结论：我们综合了当前有关这些计划在改善母婴健康成果方面有效性的经验证据，并提出了报告此类成果的框架。我们将重点放在撒哈拉以南非洲地区，因为不同地区之间在操作上存在很大差异，而且该地区需要提高母婴保健水平：本综述检索了 PubMed Central 和 Google Scholar，并对 2000 年至 2021 年期间在撒哈拉以南非洲进行的研究进行了反向引文检索。只纳入了同行评审的关于 CT 的研究，这些研究报告了育龄妇女和 18 岁以下儿童营养结果和服务利用率之外的健康结果：结果：确定了 21 篇报道在 6 个撒哈拉以南非洲国家开展的研究的文章。所有研究都报告了健康结果的衡量标准，计划的目标群体是育龄妇女和 18 岁以下儿童。在这 21 篇文章中，1 篇报告了死亡率测量结果，13 篇报告了功能状态测量结果；3 篇报告了幸福感的主观测量结果，4 篇报告了行为健康结果。在所报告的各类衡量标准中，有证据表明现金转移计划改善了一些健康结果（如提高了婴幼儿存活率、降低了疾病发病率、改善了认知和运动发育、改善了总体健康状况、推迟了初次性行为、减少了性交易等），而在一些研究中，抑郁症等结果并未显示出显著改善：现金转移计划既有效又具有成本效益，确实有可能改善撒哈拉以南非洲国家的母婴健康状况。然而，还需要进一步开展研究，以解决实施过程中遇到的挑战，包括数据收集和计划管理。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Global Health Action PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH-

CiteScore

5.10

自引率

3.80%

发文量

108

审稿时长

16 weeks

期刊介绍： Global Health Action is an international peer-reviewed Open Access journal affiliated with the Unit of Epidemiology and Global Health, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine at Umeå University, Sweden. The Unit hosts the Umeå International School of Public Health and the Umeå Centre for Global Health Research. Vision: Our vision is to be a leading journal in the global health field, narrowing health information gaps and contributing to the implementation of policies and actions that lead to improved global health. Aim: The widening gap between the winners and losers of globalisation presents major public health challenges. To meet these challenges, it is crucial to generate new knowledge and evidence in the field and in settings where the evidence is lacking, as well as to bridge the gaps between existing knowledge and implementation of relevant findings. Thus, the aim of Global Health Action is to contribute to fuelling a more concrete, hands-on approach to addressing global health challenges. Manuscripts suggesting strategies for practical interventions and research implementations where none already exist are specifically welcomed. Further, the journal encourages articles from low- and middle-income countries, while also welcoming articles originated from South-South and South-North collaborations. All articles are expected to address a global agenda and include a strong implementation or policy component.