Conditional cash transfers to improve healthfocused outcomes: a global scoping review

摘要

This scoping review assesses the use of conditional cash transfer (CCT)interventions – direct distribution of money to individuals conditionalon their compliance to certain requirements – in randomised controlledtrials, quasi-experimental studies and large community-basedrandomised trials with health-focused outcomes. Five databases weresearched to identify 68 records published 2004–2021 from 25 countries(8 low- (32), 5 lower middle- (20), 6 upper middle- (24) and 6 highincome(24), according to the World Bank Categorisation (2017).Forty-six studies were unique (after excluding multiple publications ona single study). The most common outcomes assessed were infectiousdiseases (30); maternal health (24); vaccination rates (17); andchildhood developmental measures (17). The number of participantsreceiving CCT in each study ranged from 47 to 5,788, with a median of487 individuals. The number of total participants ranged from 72 to14,000, with a median of 1,289 individuals. Fifteen percent of studiesinvolved mobile CCT disbursement. More than a quarter of paymentswere greater than 50 USD (29), and most payments were 20 USD orless (58). Seventy-eight percent of unique full-length studies reportedstatistically significant CCT effects. Although CCTs remain controversial,a growing evidence base is emerging for their potential impact inspecific health conditions.