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Record: 1
Title:
Impact of a Family Economic Intervention (Bridges) on Health Functioning of
Adolescents Orphaned by HIV/AIDS: A 5-Year (2012–2017) Cluster Randomized
Controlled Trial in Uganda.
Authors:
Ssewamala, Fred M. (AUTHOR) fms1@wustl.edu
Shu-Huah Wang, Julia (AUTHOR)
Brathwaite, Rachel (AUTHOR)
Sun, Sicong (AUTHOR)
Mayo-Wilson, Larissa Jennings (AUTHOR)
Neilands, Torsten B. (AUTHOR)
Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne (AUTHOR)
Source:
American Journal of Public Health. Mar2021, Vol. 111 Issue 3, p504-513. 10p.
Document Type:
Article
Subject Terms:
*AIDS
*Child welfare
*Endowments
*Families
*School children
Health status indicators
HIV infections
Sexual health
Mental health
Orphanages
Orphans
Statistical sampling
Self-efficacy
Self-perception
Teenagers' health
Socioeconomic factors
Randomized controlled trials
Geographic Terms:
Uganda
Abstract:
Objectives. To investigate the long-term impacts of a family economic intervention on
physical, mental, and sexual health of adolescents orphaned by AIDS in Uganda.
Methods. Students in grades 5 and 6 from 48 primary schools in Uganda were randomly
assigned at the school level (cluster randomization) to 1 of 3 conditions: (1) control (n =
487; 16 schools), (2) Bridges (1:1 savings match rate; n = 396; 16 schools), or (3)
Bridges PLUS (2:1 savings match rate; n = 500; 16 schools). Results. At 24 months,
compared with participants in the control condition, Bridges and Bridges PLUS
participants reported higher physical health scores, lower depressive symptoms, and
higher self-concept and self-efficacy. During the same period, Bridges participants
reported lower sexual risk-taking intentions compared with the other 2 study conditions.
At 48 months, Bridges and Bridges PLUS participants reported better self-rated health,
higher savings, and lower food insecurity. During the same period, Bridges PLUS
participants reported reduced hopelessness, and greater self-concept and self-efficacy. At
24 and 48 months, Bridges PLUS participants reported higher savings than Bridges
participants. Conclusions. Economic interventions targeting families raising adolescents
orphaned by AIDS can contribute to long-term positive health and overall well-being of
these families. Trial Registration. ClinicalTrials.gov registration no. NCT01447615.
[ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Abstracts.)
ISSN:
0090-0036
DOI:
10.2105/AJPH.2020.306044
Accession Number:
148624513
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direct=true&db=ehh&AN=148624513&site=ehost-live">Impact of a Family Economic
Intervention (Bridges) on Health Functioning of Adolescents Orphaned by HIV/AIDS: A
5-Year (2012–2017) Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial in Uganda.</A>
Database:
Education Research Complete
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has the world's highest HIV prevalence rate, including a high
prevalence of orphaned adolescents—defined as an adolescent without a biological mother,
without a biological father, or without both. As of 2019, out of an estimated 13.8 million children
and adolescents (aged 0–17 years) worldwide who lost 1 or both parents to AIDS, approximately
75% (10.3 million) resided in SSA.[ 1] Many of these young people experience compromised
health and elevated mental health difficulties and risk behaviors with public health consequences
(e.g., HIV transmission to others).[ 2]
Uganda, one of the SSA countries hardest hit by HIV, reports unprecedented numbers of
adolescents orphaned as a result of AIDS (AoAIDS), as well as adolescents living with HIV. To
illustrate, out of an estimated 1.2 million reported orphans, 45% were orphaned as a direct result
of AIDS.[ 3] Although the incidence of HIV infection is projected to fall to 0.46% by the end of
2020,[[ 4]] prevalence of AoAIDS remains high because of time lags between HIV infection and
HIV-related death. Adolescents affected by HIV, including AoAIDS, often live in poverty and
show high rates of depression,[[ 6]] anxiety, learning problems,[[ 8]] and sexual risk taking.
[[10]] They often experience low self-esteem and hopelessness about their future, which can
negatively affect their decisions, including substance use and sexual risk taking, further elevating
the likelihood for contracting sexually transmitted infections and HIV,[12] all of which may
compromise successful transition into adulthood.
The death of 1 or both parents because of AIDS significantly affects AoAIDS. In addition to
disruptions in caregiving, AoAIDS's adversity is compounded by emotional and psychological
anguish from living with a caregiver or parent who has a lifelong, highly stigmatized chronic
illness. Moreover, parental illness and death may cause family financial instability because of
poor health and increased medical care expenses, resulting in poverty and food insecurity.[13]
Adolescents may sacrifice education to assume family income-generating responsibilities,
contributing to negative educational outcomes—for example, reduced school attendance and
school dropout.[14]
Investments in adolescents affected by HIV/AIDS are needed to enhance human capital for the
next generation. Economic interventions (EIs) guided by asset theory[15] have demonstrated
substantial promise with accumulating evidence.[[ 6], [ 8], [10], [16]] Asset theory posits that
asset ownership can lead to wide-scale benefits, including expectations for more future
resources, optimistic thinking, feelings of safety and security,[19] and future planning.[[15],
[20]] Asset ownership is increasingly viewed as a critical factor for reducing poverty, having a
positive impact on attitudes and behaviors, and improving psychosocial functioning and stability.
[[21]] Asset theory is consistent with Bandura's social cognitive theory[23] and the theory of
reasoned action.[[25]] Taken together, these theoretical frameworks contribute to understanding
how attitudes and beliefs evolve, which in turn influences intentions and behaviors.[[15], [20],
[31]]
Moreover, among limited research that examines the effect of EIs on health and overall
developmental outcomes for adolescents, findings have alluded to short-term impacts
immediately following intervention initiation.[[11], [32]] Longer-term postintervention effects of
EIs on various outcomes are not well-documented. As emphasized in a Lancet series on the
science of HIV prevention, there is an important role for "combined" interventions to address
multiple dimensions of preventive health.[34] This article reports results from a recently
completed cluster randomized controlled trial called Bridges (2012–2017), one of the few
longitudinal large-scale combination interventions using a savings-led EI approach aimed at
addressing socioeconomic and psychological challenges of AoAIDS in SSA as they transition
into young adulthood. EIs comprised financial savings incentives, financial literacy workshops,
and peer mentoring. Data from 5 years were used (2012–2017), including 2 postintervention
follow-ups (at 36 and 48 months), allowing intervention effects to be assessed over a longer time
period.
We hypothesized that AoAIDS who received the Bridges EI would experience a wide range of
greater positive outcomes, including better physical, mental, and sexual health; improved
education; and overall financial stability compared with adolescents in a control condition. Given
the study's theoretical framework[[21]] and that interventions improving families' economic
capabilities in resource-constrained communities have a wide range of positive outcomes (as
detailed in theory previously), we captured multiple outcomes resulting from EIs.
Thus, we addressed the following questions: ( 1) What are short- and long-term effects of
Bridges EIs on the following primary outcomes: physical, mental, and sexual health–related
outcomes? ( 2) What are short- and long-term effects of Bridges EI on the following secondary
outcomes: financial stability, an education-related indicator, and self-concept? ( 3) Is there
heterogeneity in the effect of EIs: (a) do higher financial incentives lead to stronger EI effects or
(b) do Bridges EIs produce differential effects among male and female adolescents?
METHODS
The Bridges study (grant R01HD070727) utilized a 3-arm cluster randomized controlled trial
collecting data over a 5-year period (2012–2017). Participant inclusion criteria were ( 1) an
adolescent enrolled in 5th or 6th grade in a public primary school, ( 2) having lost 1 or both
biological parent(s) to AIDS (hence defined as AIDS-orphaned), ( 3) attending 1 of 48 public
primary schools enrolled in the study, and ( 4) living within a family (not an institution or
orphanage as these adolescents may have different characteristics and material needs).
All 3 study condition participants received bolstered standard of care for school‐going AIDS‐
orphaned adolescents in the study area. Specifically, standard of care included school lunches,
scholastic materials including textbooks and notebooks, and counseling provided by priests in
the community. The 2 treatment conditions (Bridges and Bridges PLUS) included standard of
care as well as the following 3 intervention components: ( 1) workshops focused on asset
building, financial literacy, and future planning; ( 2) peer mentors to reinforce learning[38]; and (
3) a matched financial savings account to be used for education for the participating adolescent
or family microenterprise development. More details on the mentorship program can be found in
"Details of the Bridges Mentorship Program" in the Appendix. The only difference between
Bridges and Bridges PLUS was the matching rate for financial savings: participants in the
Bridges condition received a 1:1 savings match rate, whereas participants in the Bridges PLUS
condition received a 2:1 savings matching rate. The intervention was provided for a total of 24
months. Repeated measures were used for data collection at 12‐month intervals between 2012
and 2017. The baseline assessment (wave 1) occurred in 2012 with 12‐, 24‐, 36-, and 48-month
follow‐up assessments afterward. In this article, we used data from all 5 time points.
By study end (48-month follow-up), the attrition rate for each study condition was the following:
Bridges, 8.8%; Bridges PLUS, 10.6%; and control, 8.6%. The result from a design-based test for
the independence of loss to follow-up locates no attrition rate differences by study conditions
(F[1.94, 91.20] = 0.5249; P = .595).
Outcome Measures
We investigated the following primary outcomes: physical health, mental health functioning, and
sexual health–related functioning. Specifically, (a) physical health was measured using a self-
rated health measure captured by the following question: "at the present time, would you say that
your physical health is excellent = 5, good = 4, fair = 3, poor = 2, or very poor = 1?"; (b) mental
health functioning was captured using 2 mental health conditions: ( 1) depressive symptoms,
measured using the 27-item Children's Depression Inventory,[39] and ( 2) hopelessness, assessed
using the 20-item Beck Hopelessness Scale[40]; and (c) sexual health was captured by sexual
risk-taking intentions (continuous summated score from 5 items).
In addition, our secondary outcomes captured financial stability, school enrollment, self-concept,
self-efficacy, and additional sexual health indicators. Financial stability was assessed from
responses to 2 variables: self-reported savings amount (continuous) and whether adolescents
experienced food insecurity. Food insecurity was defined as having only 1 or fewer than 1 meal
per day in the past 7 days versus more than 1 meal per day (dichotomous). School enrollment
was defined as a participant attending school. At baseline, enrollment in 1 of the selected 48
public primary schools was required for inclusion in the study. Subsequent school enrollment
was self-reported by the student and confirmed by the research team from the students' respective
schools. Next, we further investigated the effect of EI on self-concept, measured using the 20-
item Tennessee Self-Concept Scale,[41] and self-efficacy, measured using the 29-item Youth
Self-Efficacy Survey.[42] We also measured sexual health using 2 additional indicators: HIV
prevention intentions (continuous summated score from 5 items) and self-reported HIV/AIDS
status, a binary variable with no = 0 and yes = 1.[[11], [16], [43]] Overall, measures of
hopelessness, self-concept, self-efficacy, and sexual health have acceptable internal consistency
levels (Cronbach α ≥ 0.7), while the depression measure (Children's Depression Inventory)
showed moderate internal consistency levels (α = 0.69). All continuous outcomes were
standardized except for the savings outcome that was transformed by a natural log.
Statistical Power
Details on statistical power calculations for the Bridges study can be found in Wang et al.[33]
Data Analysis
We used Stata version 14 (StataCorp LP, College Station, TX) to perform all statistical analyses.
First, we summarized continuous outcomes using means and standard deviations and categorical
outcomes using proportions at each time point. Next, we used 3-level multilevel models to
examine the effects of interventions on each outcome. Multilevel models account for clustering
of data where individuals are nested within each school and observations are nested within each
individual. We estimated the school-level random intercepts, individual-level random intercepts,
and individual random slopes across time points based on a continuous time variable. In each
model, we included study group status (Bridges, Bridges PLUS, or control conditions), a time-
point variable (baseline and 12-, 24-, 36-, and 48-month follow-ups), and their interactions. We
used linear mixed models to examine continuous outcomes and logistic generalized linear mixed
models to examine dichotomous outcomes. The covariance structure for the individual-level
random effects was modelled as unstructured. We employed robust standard errors (Huber–
White "sandwich" variance estimator), clustered by school ID, for continuous outcomes to
protect inferences against misspecification of the correlation structure and potential assumption
violations (e.g., nonconstant or nonnormal residuals in linear mixed models).[[44]]
The main analyses compared intervention effects between adolescents in the intervention and
control conditions. Main coefficients of interest were the interactions between study group status
and the time-point variable. To answer the 2 subsequent research questions, we conducted 2
additional sets of comparisons: ( 1) Bridges PLUS (2:1 match rate) versus Bridges (1:1 match
rate) and ( 2) intervention versus control among female and male respondents.
Across all study outcomes, the highest rate of missing data was sexual risk-taking intention at
2.6%. A missing rate of less than 5%[46] or 10%[47] is inconsequential and is unlikely to bias
statistical analysis. Our study addressed the missing data problem with our mixed-effect models,
which used direct maximum likelihood estimation under the missing-at-random assumption.
RESULTS
At baseline (Table 1), the average adolescent was aged 12 years, living on average in a 6-person
household. Slightly more than half of the adolescents sampled were female (56%), and 21% lost
both parents to AIDS (hence classified as double orphans). Most adolescents sampled lived with
a surviving biological parent or grandparent as the primary caregiver. Only 29% of caregivers
were formally employed.
Table 1 indicates that, at baseline, adolescents in the control and intervention conditions were
different on 2 observable characteristics: orphanhood status and caregiving family. Specifically,
adolescents in the control condition were more likely to have a primary caregiver who was not a
biological parent. When we controlled for these 2 characteristics, results were similar to our
reported main findings (Appendix Table A).
Table 2 presents the effects of the intervention on our primary outcomes—self-rated physical
health, mental health (depression and hopelessness), and sexual risk-taking intention. Both
intervention conditions significantly improved self-rated health at 12, 24, 36, and 48 months
(Table 2 and Appendix Table B). Results suggest that the intervention was effective in reducing
depressive symptoms at the end of the intervention period (24-month follow-up), but the
difference in depressive symptom scores between adolescents in the intervention and control
conditions were not statistically significant at 36- or 48-month follow-ups (Table 2). By contrast,
the Bridges PLUS condition had more sustained effects in reducing hopelessness levels.
Adolescents in the Bridges PLUS condition generally showed significantly lower levels of
hopelessness than control condition adolescents during and after the intervention period at 12,
24, 36, and 48 months. We found that the intervention did not have a statistically significant
effect on reducing sexual risk-taking intention. Although adolescents in the Bridges condition
reported significantly lower sexual risk-taking intentions at 24 months, the effect was short term,
and statistical significance was not sustained beyond this.
TABLE 2— Regression Results for Self-Rated Physical Health, Mental Health, and Sexual
Health (Primary Outcomes): Uganda, 2012–2017
In Table 3, the intervention effects on secondary outcomes show that, although adolescents in the
intervention and control conditions did not differ on self-reported financial savings at baseline,
adolescents in the Bridges and Bridges PLUS conditions reported significantly more financial
savings in subsequent time points than those in the control condition. At 48-month follow-up,
there were significantly more food-insecure adolescents in the control condition compared with
adolescents in Bridges and Bridges PLUS conditions. At baseline, all adolescents in the
intervention and control conditions were in school. At subsequent follow-ups, there was no
statistical difference in school enrollment between control and intervention groups.
TABLE 3— Regression Results for Financial Stability, Education, Self-Concept, and Self-
Efficacy (Secondary Outcomes): Uganda, 2012–2017
Enrollment
Log (Savings Food Insecurity: Self- Self-
Status in
Amount),a B Had 0–1 Meals per Concept,a B Efficacy,a B
School,b Log
(95% CI) or χ2 Day,b Log Odds (95% CI) or (95% CI) or
Odds (95% CI)
(P) (95% CI) or χ2 (P) χ2 (P) χ2 (P)
or χ2 (P)
Group (Ref:
Enrollment
Log (Savings Food Insecurity: Self- Self-
Status in
Amount),a B Had 0–1 Meals per Concept,a B Efficacy,a B
School,b Log
(95% CI) or χ2 Day,b Log Odds (95% CI) or (95% CI) or
2 Odds (95% CI)
(P) (95% CI) or χ (P) χ2 (P) χ2 (P)
or χ2 (P)
control)
0.15 (–0.50, –0.00 (–0.14, –0.09 (–0.25,
Bridges 0.32 (–0.14, 0.78) 0.06 (–2.52, 2.65)
0.80) 0.14) 0.07)
Bridges 0.42 (–0.21, –0.20 (–0.34, –0.23 (–0.44,
0.20 (–0.25, 0.64) 0.65 (–1.73, 3.04)
PLUS 1.05) –0.06) –0.01)
Time (Ref:
baseline)
0.25 (–0.09, –0.04 (–0.42, 0.09 (–0.02, 0.10 (–0.02,
12 months ...
0.59) 0.33) 0.20) 0.23)
0.45 (–0.10, –4.01 (–5.35, – 0.30 (0.21, 0.15 (–0.06,
24 months 0.03 (–0.35, 0.41)
1.01) 2.68) 0.39) 0.36)
1.22 (0.83, –0.61 (–1.03, – –8.35 (–10.51, – 0.26 (0.14, 0.16 (0.04,
36 months
1.61) 0.18) 6.18) 0.38) 0.29)
2.38 (1.91, –0.03 (–0.41, –9.88 (–12.12, – 0.39 (0.25, 0.37 (0.25,
48 months
2.85) 0.35) 7.65) 0.53) 0.50)
Group × time
Group × 49.20 25.85
290.21 (< .001) 18.85 (.016) 11.79 (.07)
time (< .001) (< .001)
Bridges × 12 3.10 (2.23, –0.78 (–1.35, – 0.27 (0.10, 0.22 (0.04,
...
months 3.98) 0.21) 0.44) 0.39)
Bridges
3.66 (2.83, –0.20 (–0.72, 0.36 (0.22, 0.35 (0.16,
PLUS × 12 ...
4.50) 0.32) 0.50) 0.55)
months
Bridges × 24 3.08 (1.78, –0.91 (–1.50, – –0.43 (–2.05, 0.21 (0.07, 0.30 (0.05,
months 4.39) 0.32) 1.20) 0.35) 0.55)
Bridges
4.15 (3.31, –0.51 (–1.05, –0.57 (–2.00, 0.37 (0.23, 0.35 (0.09,
PLUS × 24
5.00) 0.03) 0.85) 0.51) 0.61)
months
Bridges × 36 2.58 (1.60, –0.24 (–0.86, 0.13 (–0.05, 0.17 (–0.03,
1.33 (–0.46, 3.11)
months 3.57) 0.37) 0.30) 0.37)
Bridges
3.52 (2.80, –0.03 (–0.61, 0.23 (0.06, 0.24 (–0.02,
PLUS × 36 0.89 (–0.74, 2.51)
4.24) 0.55) 0.40) 0.50)
months
Bridges × 48 1.17 (0.31, –0.88 (–1.47, – 0.02 (–0.17, 0.02 (–0.16,
1.05 (–0.78, 2.88)
months 2.04) 0.30) 0.21) 0.20)
Bridges
1.96 (1.13, –0.69 (–1.24, – 0.25 (0.07, 0.26 (0.08,
PLUS × 48 0.93 (–0.73, 2.60)
2.80) 0.13) 0.42) 0.44)
months
Constant 2.36 (1.89, –2.02 (–2.35, – 10.85 (7.10, –0.25 (–0.34, –0.17 (–0.29,
Enrollment
Log (Savings Food Insecurity: Self- Self-
Status in
Amount),a B Had 0–1 Meals per Concept,a B Efficacy,a B
School,b Log
(95% CI) or χ2 Day,b Log Odds (95% CI) or (95% CI) or
2 Odds (95% CI)
(P) (95% CI) or χ (P) χ2 (P) χ2 (P)
or χ2 (P)
2.84) 1.69) 14.61) –0.17) –0.05)
Variance of
0.22 (0.09, 0.01 (0.00, 0.01 (0.01,
school random 0.07 (0.03, 0.24) 6.07 (3.29, 11.22)
0.56) 0.02) 0.03)
intercepts
Variance of
0.56 (0.41, 0.02 (0.02, 0.01 (0.00,
child random
0.78) 0.03) 0.03)
slopes (time)
Variance of
1.82 (1.17, 35.24 (19.80, 0.40 (0.35, 0.25 (0.19,
child random 1.49 (1.17, 1.89)
2.82) 62.74) 0.47) 0.32)
intercepts
Covariance of
0.36 (–0.02, –0.04 (–0.05, –0.02 (–0.04,
child slopes
0.73) –0.02) 0.00)
and intercepts
Variance of 15.37 (14.51, 0.56 (0.52, 0.72 (0.66,
residuals 16.28) 0.60) 0.79)
0.02 (0.01, 0.02 (0.00, 0.05 (0.02,
ICC (95% CI) 0.07 (0.04, 0.13) 0.03 (0.00, 0.25)
0.05) 0.07) 0.08)
Control mean
1999.38 0.17 1.00 67.49 99.31
at baseline
No. 6246 6402 6402 6388 6374
2 b Melogit model in Stata version 14 (StataCorp LP, College Station, TX); results are presented
as log odds.
Bridges was more efficacious in improving self-concept outcomes during the intervention period
(12- and 24-month follow-ups) relative to the control condition, while the Bridges PLUS
condition led to improved self-concept throughout the observed periods (at 12, 24, 36, and 48
months). Self-efficacy showed a similar pattern. As measured by HIV-prevention intentions and
self-reported HIV/AIDS status, we found that the intervention did not have a statistically
significant effect on sexual health indicators (Appendix Table C). We also present results from
pooling Bridges and Bridges PLUS groups in Appendix Table D.
Graph: FIGURE 1— Average Self-Reported Savings (in Ugandan Shillings [UGX]) for
Participants in the Control and 2 Intervention Conditions, Bridges and Bridges PLUS: Uganda,
2012–2017Note. To compare the intervention effects by Bridges PLUS versus Bridges, we ran
the following model: outcome = intercept + Bridges + Bridges PLUS + time + Bridges × time +
Bridges PLUS × time + ε. We conducted pairwise comparisons between Bridges and Bridges
PLUS groups at each time point. From 24- to 48-month follow-ups, Bridges PLUS adolescents
had a significantly higher amount of self-reported savings than Bridges adolescents had.
To address this question, we further included the following variables in our analytic models:
interaction between gender and intervention status, interaction between gender and time-point
dummies, and a 3-way interaction among gender, intervention, and time-point dummies. We
administered a Wald test to test the assumption that the 3-way-interaction terms among gender,
intervention, and time points were jointly equal to zero. Across all the outcomes examined and
reported in this article, the intervention did not have varying effects for male and female
adolescents on all primary outcomes, but the intervention had varying effects by gender on 2
secondary outcomes: self-efficacy and HIV prevention intentions (Appendix Table E and
Appendix Figure C). For self-efficacy, the effect of Bridges PLUS was stronger for males than
females at 24 months. For HIV prevention intentions, we found that the effect of Bridges was
stronger for males than females at 24 months. However, for these 2 outcomes, effects by gender
were similar during other time points.
DISCUSSION
This article presents the efficacy of an EI, comprising incentivized financial savings accounts,
mentorship, and financial literacy training, on a wide range of adolescent health and
developmental outcomes over 48 months. We found that, at the end of the 24-month intervention
initiation period (classified as short-term), both Bridges and Bridges PLUS were efficacious in
improving self-rated health and reducing levels of adolescent depressive symptoms and
hopelessness, 3 of our 4 primary outcomes. However, only participants in the Bridges arm
reported fewer intentions to engage in sexual risk-taking behavior, and this was only significant
at 24 months. The intervention was also efficacious in increasing financial savings, reducing
food insecurity, and improving self-concept and self-efficacy, our secondary outcomes, in the
short term. Forty-eight months following intervention initiation (classified as long-term), the
effects of the Bridges intervention remained statistically significant for 1 primary outcome,
increased self-rated health, and 2 secondary outcomes, increased financial savings and reduced
food insecurity. The Bridges PLUS intervention was additionally efficacious in reducing levels
of hopelessness and increasing self-concept at 48-month follow-up. However, the intervention
was not efficacious in improving sexual health outcomes.
This study demonstrates that a family-based EI can sustainably improve physical health, mental
health functioning, financial stability, and food security for AoAIDS. Our experience adds to the
evidence that financial savings (even modest), peer mentorship, and financial literacy training
have the potential to be a requisite and critical part of standard of quality care for AoAIDS in
SSA and in other resource-constrained settings.
In the context of HIV prevention, despite a strong study design, we found no effects on sexual
risk-taking–related outcomes after the intervention. This could be attributed to the younger age
of adolescents participating in the study (average age of 12 years at recruitment). Given that the
documented age of sexual debut in the region is 16 years and that participants were school-going
at the time of recruitment and lived within families, these may act as protective factors for sexual
activity, especially for this age group.
During the intervention period, the mentoring component, which was only offered in the first
year of the intervention, was efficacious in reducing depression levels, and the results were
sustained 12 months after the intervention, but not beyond. These results are similar to outcomes
of another intervention that utilized peer mentoring.[48] It could be that for AoAIDS, ongoing
social support (in this case, mentorship) is critical—if results are to be sustained in the long run.
Nonetheless, Bridges PLUS adolescents who received a higher level of savings incentives
showed sustained lower levels of hopelessness after the intervention.
Overall, our findings suggest that Bridges had several culturally relevant services that
demonstrated long-term benefits to AoAIDS in the areas of physical health, mental health,
economic status (e.g., savings), and nutrition (e.g., improved food security). Yet, it appeared to
be less efficacious on sexual risk-taking behaviors. A further study on economic interventions
incorporating sexual risk-reduction education into programming for AoAIDS is recommended.
This may yield further evidence and validate new intervention content or foci targeting sexual
risk specifically.
Although we found that Bridges PLUS adolescents reported more sustained effects on
hopelessness, savings, self-concept, and self-efficacy at 48 months, their differences to Bridges
adolescents were only statistically significant for the self-reported savings outcome. This finding
indicates that a higher savings incentive had a stronger savings effect even after the incentives
ceased for 2 years, a novel finding demonstrating effects of savings incentives with a longer-term
follow-up than previous studies.[33] However, the effects of higher savings incentives were
confined to the savings outcome only.
Likewise, we did not find strong evidence that the intervention effects relating to physical health,
mental health, sexual health, savings, and food security were significantly moderated by gender.
It is possible that the younger age of adolescents resulted in less-developed gender norms that
may have led to differentiated intervention experiences. However, there were limitations to this
analysis as the study was not powered to look at 3-way interactions involving gender; hence,
these analyses were more exploratory. Moreover, we were unable to further investigate the
impact of intervention on HIV status because of the small number of participants self-reporting
being diagnosed with HIV. Because we did not use objective measures to determine HIV status,
HIV status is likely to be underreported because of possible social desirability bias. Future
studies can consider incorporating objective HIV measures to better capture intervention effects
on objective sexual health outcomes.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The Bridges study was funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health
and Human Development (grant 1R01 HD070727-01; PI: F. M. Ssewamala).
We are grateful to the staff and the volunteer teams at the International Center for Child Health
and Development in Uganda for monitoring the study implementation process. Our special
thanks go to all the children and their caregiving families who agreed to participate in the study.
Note. The funders had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management,
analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the article; and
decision to submit the article for publication.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.
Ethics approval was granted by the Columbia University Institutional Review Board
(AAAI1950) and the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (SS2586). All
adolescents provided assent and their caregivers provided consent for participation.
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~~~~~~~~
By Fred M. Ssewamala; Julia Shu-Huah Wang; Rachel Brathwaite; Sicong Sun; Larissa Jennings
Mayo-Wilson; Torsten B. Neilands and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn
Fred M. Ssewamala, Rachel Brathwaite, and Sicong Sun are with Brown School and the
International Center for Child Health and Development, Washington University in St Louis, St
Louis, MO. Julia Shu-Huah Wang is with the University of Hong Kong, Department of Social
Work and Social Administration, Hong Kong. Larissa Jennings Mayo-Wilson is with Indiana
University, School of Public Health, Department of Applied Health Science, Bloomington, IN.
Torsten B. Neilands is with the Division of Prevention Science, University of California, San
Francisco. Jeanne Brooks-Gunn is with Teachers College and Vagelos College of Physicians and
Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY.
Fred M. Ssewamala, Rachel Brathwaite, and Sicong Sun are with Brown School and the
International Center for Child Health and Development, Washington University in St Louis, St
Louis, MO. Julia Shu-Huah Wang is with the University of Hong Kong, Department of Social
Work and Social Administration, Hong Kong. Larissa Jennings Mayo-Wilson is with Indiana
University, School of Public Health, Department of Applied Health Science, Bloomington, IN.
Torsten B. Neilands is with the Division of Prevention Science, University of California, San
Francisco. Jeanne Brooks-Gunn is with Teachers College and Vagelos College of Physicians and
Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY.
Fred M. Ssewamala, Rachel Brathwaite, and Sicong Sun are with Brown School and the
International Center for Child Health and Development, Washington University in St Louis, St
Louis, MO. Julia Shu-Huah Wang is with the University of Hong Kong, Department of Social
Work and Social Administration, Hong Kong. Larissa Jennings Mayo-Wilson is with Indiana
University, School of Public Health, Department of Applied Health Science, Bloomington, IN.
Torsten B. Neilands is with the Division of Prevention Science, University of California, San
Francisco. Jeanne Brooks-Gunn is with Teachers College and Vagelos College of Physicians and
Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY.
Fred M. Ssewamala, Rachel Brathwaite, and Sicong Sun are with Brown School and the
International Center for Child Health and Development, Washington University in St Louis, St
Louis, MO. Julia Shu-Huah Wang is with the University of Hong Kong, Department of Social
Work and Social Administration, Hong Kong. Larissa Jennings Mayo-Wilson is with Indiana
University, School of Public Health, Department of Applied Health Science, Bloomington, IN.
Torsten B. Neilands is with the Division of Prevention Science, University of California, San
Francisco. Jeanne Brooks-Gunn is with Teachers College and Vagelos College of Physicians and
Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY.
Fred M. Ssewamala, Rachel Brathwaite, and Sicong Sun are with Brown School and the
International Center for Child Health and Development, Washington University in St Louis, St
Louis, MO. Julia Shu-Huah Wang is with the University of Hong Kong, Department of Social
Work and Social Administration, Hong Kong. Larissa Jennings Mayo-Wilson is with Indiana
University, School of Public Health, Department of Applied Health Science, Bloomington, IN.
Torsten B. Neilands is with the Division of Prevention Science, University of California, San
Francisco. Jeanne Brooks-Gunn is with Teachers College and Vagelos College of Physicians and
Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY.
Fred M. Ssewamala, Rachel Brathwaite, and Sicong Sun are with Brown School and the
International Center for Child Health and Development, Washington University in St Louis, St
Louis, MO. Julia Shu-Huah Wang is with the University of Hong Kong, Department of Social
Work and Social Administration, Hong Kong. Larissa Jennings Mayo-Wilson is with Indiana
University, School of Public Health, Department of Applied Health Science, Bloomington, IN.
Torsten B. Neilands is with the Division of Prevention Science, University of California, San
Francisco. Jeanne Brooks-Gunn is with Teachers College and Vagelos College of Physicians and
Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY.
Fred M. Ssewamala, Rachel Brathwaite, and Sicong Sun are with Brown School and the
International Center for Child Health and Development, Washington University in St Louis, St
Louis, MO. Julia Shu-Huah Wang is with the University of Hong Kong, Department of Social
Work and Social Administration, Hong Kong. Larissa Jennings Mayo-Wilson is with Indiana
University, School of Public Health, Department of Applied Health Science, Bloomington, IN.
Torsten B. Neilands is with the Division of Prevention Science, University of California, San
Francisco. Jeanne Brooks-Gunn is with Teachers College and Vagelos College of Physicians and
Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY.
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