Protecting women from economic shocks to fight HIV in Africa

Protecting women from economic shocks to fight HIV in Africa (POWER): a randomised controlled trial

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN22516548

Enrollment

1500

Registered

2021-05-27

Start date

2021-06-02

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2026-06-22

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Prevention of HIV and other STIs Infections and Infestations Human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] disease, Infections with a predominantly sexual mode of transmission

Interventions

Participants will be recruited using respondent-driven sampling (RDS), a chain-referral sampling model. Sampling begins with the selection of seeds, and each seed is asked to recruit up to three membe

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

Female

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: Current participant inclusion criteria as of 26/11/2021: 1. Engaging in risky sexual practices in Yaounde region, Cameroon 2. Aged between 15 and 24 years old 3. Not married 4. Woman 5. Have at least one economic dependent living in Yaounde 6. Be able to respond to text messages on phone 7. Have a password-protected cell phone 8. Be HIV negative at enrolment Previous participant inclusion criteria: 1. Be engaged in commercial or transactional sex in Yaounde region, Cameroon 2. Aged between 15 and 24 years old 3. Not married 4. Identify as a woman 5. Have at least one economic dependent living in Yaounde 6. Be able to respond to text messages on phone 7. Have a password-protected cell phone 8. Be HIV negative at enrolment

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. HIV positive 2. Not have the consent of a parent or guardian for those under 21

Design outcomes

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Measured using questionnaires developed by the study team where not otherwise stated at 1, 6 and 12 months: 1. Physical health of participants measured using % of participants with good health, % of participants with chronic illness other than Hepatitis B, average number of chronic illnesses, % participants who were sick in the last 30 days, % who sought treatment from a qualified health worker if sick in the last 30 days 2. Physical health of economic dependents measured using % of economic dependents with good health, % of economic dependents with a chronic illness, average number of chronic illnesses per economic dependent, % economic dependents who were sick in the last 30 days, % economic dependent who were sick during sex act with last client, % economic dependent who were sick during sex act with the penultimate client, % of children with good health 3. Beliefs regarding control over own health measured using % who believe that nothing can be done to prevent illness, % who believe that being in good health is a matter of luck 4. Poverty measured using total expenditures, asset index, income from sex work, amount of savings, % who have Informal shock-coping strategies, average amount of transfers received and sent, % who have a debt, amount of the debt, food insecurity 5. Education/training measured using % school dropout, new enrolment in schools, % who are undertaking professional training 6. Other occupation measured using transitions out of sex work, % who have other occupation, share of sex work income in total income 7. Risky sexual behaviours measured using % of condom use with last and penultimate client using a double list experiment and the colourbox method, a newly indirect elicitation method developed by the team members, number of clients per week, type of sex acts performed with last client, self-reported risk preferences with sex (out of 10 scale), % of were pregnant the last 6 months, % who performed both transactional sex and sex work 8. Viole	—

Measure

Time frame

Measured using questionnaires developed by the study team where not otherwise stated at 1, 6 and 12 months: 1. Physical health of participants measured using % of participants with good health, % of participants with chronic illness other than Hepatitis B, average number of chronic illnesses, % participants who were sick in the last 30 days, % who sought treatment from a qualified health worker if sick in the last 30 days 2. Physical health of economic dependents measured using % of economic dependents with good health, % of economic dependents with a chronic illness, average number of chronic illnesses per economic dependent, % economic dependents who were sick in the last 30 days, % economic dependent who were sick during sex act with last client, % economic dependent who were sick during sex act with the penultimate client, % of children with good health 3. Beliefs regarding control over own health measured using % who believe that nothing can be done to prevent illness, % who believe that being in good health is a matter of luck 4. Poverty measured using total expenditures, asset index, income from sex work, amount of savings, % who have Informal shock-coping strategies, average amount of transfers received and sent, % who have a debt, amount of the debt, food insecurity 5. Education/training measured using % school dropout, new enrolment in schools, % who are undertaking professional training 6. Other occupation measured using transitions out of sex work, % who have other occupation, share of sex work income in total income 7. Risky sexual behaviours measured using % of condom use with last and penultimate client using a double list experiment and the colourbox method, a newly indirect elicitation method developed by the team members, number of clients per week, type of sex acts performed with last client, self-reported risk preferences with sex (out of 10 scale), % of were pregnant the last 6 months, % who performed both transactional sex and sex work 8. Viole

—

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Measured using questionnaires developed by the study team where not otherwise stated at 1, 6 and 12 months: 1. STI acquisition measured using % test positive for syphilis, % test positive for chlamydia, % test positive for gonorrhoea. STI symptoms prevalence measured using % who had any symptoms of STI in the last 30 days: vaginal discharge, lower abdominal pain outside of diarrhoea or menstrual period, wound or ulcer on genitals, burns during urination, swelling in the groin, itching in the genital area, pain during the sexual act, bleeding outside of period 2. HIV status measured using % testing HIV positive	—

Measure

Time frame

Measured using questionnaires developed by the study team where not otherwise stated at 1, 6 and 12 months: 1. STI acquisition measured using % test positive for syphilis, % test positive for chlamydia, % test positive for gonorrhoea. STI symptoms prevalence measured using % who had any symptoms of STI in the last 30 days: vaginal discharge, lower abdominal pain outside of diarrhoea or menstrual period, wound or ulcer on genitals, burns during urination, swelling in the groin, itching in the genital area, pain during the sexual act, bleeding outside of period 2. HIV status measured using % testing HIV positive

—

Countries

Cameroon

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Jun 27, 2026