Alaofe 2016.
Study characteristics | ||
Methods |
Study design: PCS How were missing data handled? in 2008, enumerators repeated surveys with each woman in the agricultural groups who had been interviewed the year before, if possible. For the village sample, enumerators returned to previously sampled HHs and interviewed the same respondent, wherever possible. If an original respondent was not present and another woman aged > 18 years in the HH could answer the questions, she was interviewed and this was noted. If a respondent's HH could not be found, a neighbouring HH was substituted and this was noted. Randomisation ratio: N/A Recruitment method: HH surveys conducted for each woman in the women's agricultural groups and for a random representative sample of HHs in each village, with women aged > 18 years as respondents. Surveys conducted following installation of the PVDI systems but before any harvest. Any women who were away from the district at the time of the survey were omitted. Sample size justification and outcome used: NR Sampling method: all HHs of women who were involved in local women's agricultural groups were sampled from 2 intervention villages and 2 matched‐pair control villages (similar in terms of location along the same roads, administrative status and size). A random, representative sample of 30 HHs in each village was also selected from each village. Study aim or objective: to evaluate the impact of SMGs on crop production diversity and dietary diversity in the Kalale district of Northern Benin. Study period: November 2007 to November 2008 Unit of allocation or exposure: HHs |
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Participants |
Baseline characteristics Intervention or exposure group (n = 116)
Control group (n = 98)
Overall group characteristics: NR Inclusion criteria: HHs in 4 selected villages in the Kalale district Exclusion criteria: none reported Baseline differences: fewer literate women were in the intervention group than in the control group (P < 0.05). HH size was lower in control WG (mean 5.9 (SD 2.7)) than the intervention WG (mean 7.8 (SD 3.5)) (P = 0.2). Total number completed and analysed: intervention group: WG: n = 56; NWG: n = 60; control group: WG: n = 38; NWG: n = 60. Total number enrolled per relevant group: intervention group: WG: n = 56; NWG: n = 60; control group: WG: n = 38; NWG: n = 60 Total number randomised per relevant group: N/A Attrition: NR Description of subgroups measured and reported: for the intervention and control groups, there were 2 subgroups: HHs with women who participated in a local women's agricultural group (WG) and HHs where no‐one belonged to a women's agricultural group (NWG). |
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Interventions |
Intervention/exposure group: income generation through SMGs
Control: no intervention (usual circumstances of hand‐watered irrigation) |
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Outcomes | HH food expenditure: proportion of income spent on food; foods purchased in dry season Dietary diversity: variety of fruits and vegetables consumed |
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Identification |
Sponsorship source: quote: "We would like to acknowledge the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) for implementing the PVDI project, ICRISAT technicians for their extension work with project farmers, and l'Institut de Recherche Empirique en Economie Politique (IREEP, Cotonou, Benin) for their enumeration of the HH surveys. This project was supported by an Environmental Ventures Projects grant from the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University." Country: Benin Setting: Kalale district in northern Benin, which is a rural setting without an electricity grid, no secondary school and "100 km from a paved road;" 85–90% of HHs totally depended on agriculture for livelihoods. Many women's agricultural groups were engaged in small‐scale vegetable production before project implementation; as such, this PVDI project fit within social and cultural norms. Authors' names: Halimatou Alaofe; Jennifer Burney; Douglas Taren Email: halaofe@email.arizona.edu; burney@stanford.edu; taren@email.arizona.edu Declarations of interest: quote: "The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article." Study or programme name and acronym: Solar Market Gardens (SMGs) Type of record: 2 journal articles Trial registration: N/A |
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Notes | ||
Risk of bias | ||
Bias | Authors' judgement | Support for judgement |
Random sequence generation (Selection bias) | High risk | CBA study. No randomisation of intervention. |
Allocation concealment (Selection bias) | High risk | CBA study. No random allocation of intervention. |
Baseline characteristics similar (Selection bias) | Low risk | Although there were some baseline differences between the intervention and control groups, the regression analysis was adjusted for variables such as age, education, local languages, occupation, HH size and consumption expenditures. |
Baseline outcome measurements similar (Selection bias) | Low risk | Quote: "At baseline, there was no significant difference in the variety of fruits and vegetables produced and consumed between the 4 groups." "… there were no significant differences in food purchases during the dry season between the 4 groups at baseline." |
Blinding of participants and personnel (Performance bias) | Low risk | Blinding not possible, but unlikely that a lack of blinding affected outcomes. |
Blinding of outcome assessment (Detection bias) | High risk | NR by study authors but outcomes were self‐reported and likely to be influenced by lack of blinding. |
Protection against contamination (Performance bias) | Low risk | Allocation by village and contamination was unlikely. |
Incomplete outcome data (Attrition bias) | Unclear risk | It is NR how many HH from the baseline survey per group were N/A for endpoint survey. |
Selective outcome reporting (Reporting bias) | Unclear risk | Study protocol N/A. |
Other bias | Low risk | Misclassification bias: low risk. Measurement bias: low risk. Structured questionnaire on HH food consumption. Recall period of 1 month during dry season. Seasonality bias: low risk. Follow‐up survey conducted during the same season. |