A Savings Intervention to Reduce Men's Engagement in HIV Risk Behaviors

A Savings Intervention to Reduce Men's Engagement in HIV Risk Behaviors

This randomized control trial will test an economic intervention to reduce Kenyan men's engagement in behaviors that increase the risk of HIV/STIs. Participants randomized to the intervention group will be able to open accounts with a partner bank and will be incentivized to save with lottery-based rewards.

This project will evaluate an innovative, theoretically-motivated economic intervention to reduce men's engagement in transactional sex and other risky behaviors. Leveraging innovations in mobile financial services and research on savings behavior in low-income countries, the investigators propose to test an intervention that seeks to motivate high-risk, income-earning men in western Kenya to reduce their spending on risky behaviors and instead save their disposable income in local bank accounts. These bank accounts will include additional incentives to save in the form of lottery-based rewards linked to amounts saved. The intervention will also encourage participants to develop savings goals and strategies, and provide periodic reminders about saving regularly. Through a direct economic mechanism (incentives to shift expenditures from the present to the future) and a psychological mechanism (increasing future orientation), the investigators hypothesize that the intervention will result in increased savings, reduced spending on transactional sex and alcohol, less risky sexual behavior, and reduced risk of HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

The investigators will conduct a randomized controlled trial among men who are at high risk of HIV and STI infection and determine the effects of a savings intervention on health and economic outcomes. Specific aims of the project are as follows. Aim 1: Determine the impact of the intervention on savings and investment behavior, self-reported sexual behavior, and incidence of HIV/STIs. Aim 2: Quantitatively and qualitatively assess mechanisms of behavior change among participants and a sample of their female partners.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Male
• Age 18-39 years
• Resides in study community and plans to remain for the next 2 years
• Used alcohol or other substances in the past month
• Engagement in any transactional sex (defined as payment of money, goods, or services in exchange for sex) in the past 3 months
• Has a steady income source that typically results in earnings every week
• Owns mobile phone
• Already has or is willing to open an account with partner banking institution
• Has national identification card (required for opening bank account)
• Has Kenya Revenue Authority personal identification number or is willing to create one (required for opening bank account)

Exclusion Criteria:

• None