Evaluating Girls Invest: A Mobile-Enabled Economic Empowerment Intervention for Girls to Reduce Risk for Partner Violence

NCT06942481 | Completed Early Phase 1

• 2 other identifiers: HS-2018-0195D-0000009194-01
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 240
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The research aims to refine and evaluate Girls Invest, a newly developed economic empowerment intervention, to reduce economic and social risks associated with high rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) among adolescent girls in Ibadan, Nigeria. Girls Invest, initially developed and tested in the US, has been adapted for use in Nigeria via Phase I Wellspring support. Girls Invest participants complete gender equity and financial skills training modules via a mobile "app." Upon completion, each participant receives a financial resource of supporting girls' education/vocation (e.g., sewing machine, baking oven and pans, or funds to cover educational exams).

Conditions

Risk Factors for Intimate Partner Violence

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Attitudes supportive of traditional gender roles: Gender Equitable Men (GEM) Scale

  seven items adapted from Gender Equitable Men (GEM) Scale assessing male and female roles in the following: decision-making (e.g., when to have sex, household purchases), household chores, childcare, reproductive decisions (including pregnancy prevention), and in receiving education/training. Responses involved 5-point Likert scales ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree.

  baseline to 6 months follow up

• Attitudes supportive of IPV: Items adapted from Demographic Health Surveys

  7 validated items adapted from Demographic Health Surveys asking whether any of the following scenarios a husband has good reason to hit his wife: (1) She does not complete housework to his satisfaction, (2) She disobeys him, (3) She refuses to have sexual relations with him, (4) She asks him whether he has other girlfriends, (5) He finds out she has been unfaithful, (6) She goes out without telling him, or (7) She does not prepare a meal to his satisfaction. Responses involved 5-point Likert scales ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree.

  baseline to 6 months follow up

• Coping with experiences of gender-based discrimination

  three items assessing perceived ability to identify instances of "gender-based discrimination against me" and coping with such experiences as being able to "take care of myself," and recognizing that such experiences are not "about anything I did as an individual; items developed based on previous literature on the topic and investigator's previous research, given the absence of a validated scale. Measure was piloted with 5 participants and refined prior to implementation.

  baseline to 6 months follow up

• Perceptions of economic vulnerability

  eight items asking about perceived household economic situation, including having enough money to purchase basic necessities (e.g., food, clothes, other needs) and money to pay for education/training of the participant. Items also assessed perceived financial stress of the household. Responses involved 5-point Likert scales ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Scale was developed based on investigator's research and existing literature on this topic, given the lack of a validated scale. It was piloted among 5 participants prior to implementation.

  baseline to 6 months follow up

Study Arms (2)

Girls Invest

EXPERIMENTAL

Girls Invest is an app-based economic empowerment intervention to address social and economic factors associated with IPV among girls ages 15-19 in low-income communities in Ibadan, Nigeria.

Behavioral: Girls Invest

Waitlist Control group

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

Participants receive the intervention after they complete the 6 month follow-up survey

Behavioral: Waitlist control

Interventions

Girls Invest BEHAVIORAL

The Girls Invest intervention involved: 1) app-based trainings on topics related to financial literacy, gender equity, and health and 2) financial resources/incentives supporting girls' education/career.

Girls Invest

Waitlist control BEHAVIORAL

Participants receive Girls Invest after they complete the 6 month follow-up survey.

Waitlist Control group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 15 Years - 19 Years
• Gender Eligibility Details: girls
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Girls ages 15-19 in selected secondary classes of 16 schools in Ibadan

You may not qualify if:

• Girls under 15 and over 19 years of age
• Do not attend one of the selected secondary classes of 16 schools in Ibadan

Sponsors & Collaborators

• San Diego State University: lead
• University of Ibadan: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University of Ibadan

Ibadan, Nigeria

Location

Study Officials

• Elizabeth Reed

  San Diego State University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Olufunmilayo Fawole

  University of Ibadan

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: early phase 1
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 9, 2025
• First Posted: April 24, 2025
• Study Start: September 7, 2022
• Primary Completion: September 15, 2023
• Study Completion: September 15, 2023
• Last Updated: April 27, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

NG (1)