Impact of a Mobile Money–Based Conditional Cash Transfer Intervention on Health Care Utilization in Southern Madagascar: Mixed-Methods Study

Abstract BackgroundMobile money–based cash transfer interventions are becoming increasingly utilized, especially in humanitarian settings. southern Madagascar faced a humanitarian emergency in 2021-2022, when the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and a severe famine affecte...

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Main Authors: Mara Anna Franke, Anne Neumann, Kim Nordmann, Daniela Suleymanova, Onja Gabrielle Ravololohanitra, Julius Valentin Emmrich, Samuel Knauss
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: JMIR Publications 2025-03-01
Series:JMIR mHealth and uHealth
Online Access:https://mhealth.jmir.org/2025/1/e60811
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author Mara Anna Franke
Anne Neumann
Kim Nordmann
Daniela Suleymanova
Onja Gabrielle Ravololohanitra
Julius Valentin Emmrich
Samuel Knauss
author_facet Mara Anna Franke
Anne Neumann
Kim Nordmann
Daniela Suleymanova
Onja Gabrielle Ravololohanitra
Julius Valentin Emmrich
Samuel Knauss
author_sort Mara Anna Franke
collection DOAJ
description Abstract BackgroundMobile money–based cash transfer interventions are becoming increasingly utilized, especially in humanitarian settings. southern Madagascar faced a humanitarian emergency in 2021-2022, when the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and a severe famine affected the fragile region simultaneously. ObjectiveThis mixed-methods study aims to analyze the impact and factors influencing the success of a mobile money–based conditional cash transfer intervention for health care utilization at 4 primary and 11 secondary facilities in Madagascar. MethodsWe obtained quantitative data from 11 facility registers, detailing patient numbers per month, categorized into maternity care, surgical care, pediatric care, outpatient care, and inpatient care. An interrupted time series analysis, without a control group, was conducted using the end of the intervention in July 2022 as the cut off point. For qualitative data, 64 in-depth interviews were conducted with health care providers, NGO staff, policymakers, beneficiaries, and nonbeneficiaries of the intervention, and was interpreted by 4 independent researchers using reflexive thematic analysis to identify facilitators and barriers to implementation. ResultsThe interrupted time series analysis showed a significant negative impact on health care utilization, indicating a reduction in health care–seeking behavior after the end of the cash transfer intervention. The effect was stronger in the slope change of patient numbers per month (defined as PP ConclusionsThe conditional cash transfer intervention was overarchingly successful in increasing health care utilization in southern Madagascar in a humanitarian setting. However, this success was conditional on key implementation factors at the community, facility, and NGO levels. In the future, similar interventions should proactively consider the key factors identified in this study to optimize the impact.
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spelling doaj-art-90cd6250b7d94f20bd066cf649e4e8602025-08-20T02:58:18ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR mHealth and uHealth2291-52222025-03-0113e60811e6081110.2196/60811Impact of a Mobile Money–Based Conditional Cash Transfer Intervention on Health Care Utilization in Southern Madagascar: Mixed-Methods StudyMara Anna Frankehttp://orcid.org/0000-0001-7548-4423Anne Neumannhttp://orcid.org/0009-0002-5506-678XKim Nordmannhttp://orcid.org/0000-0003-2211-9603Daniela Suleymanovahttp://orcid.org/0009-0008-8075-1539Onja Gabrielle Ravololohanitrahttp://orcid.org/0009-0002-1944-7526Julius Valentin Emmrichhttp://orcid.org/0000-0002-3393-0840Samuel Knausshttp://orcid.org/0000-0002-3046-9075 Abstract BackgroundMobile money–based cash transfer interventions are becoming increasingly utilized, especially in humanitarian settings. southern Madagascar faced a humanitarian emergency in 2021-2022, when the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and a severe famine affected the fragile region simultaneously. ObjectiveThis mixed-methods study aims to analyze the impact and factors influencing the success of a mobile money–based conditional cash transfer intervention for health care utilization at 4 primary and 11 secondary facilities in Madagascar. MethodsWe obtained quantitative data from 11 facility registers, detailing patient numbers per month, categorized into maternity care, surgical care, pediatric care, outpatient care, and inpatient care. An interrupted time series analysis, without a control group, was conducted using the end of the intervention in July 2022 as the cut off point. For qualitative data, 64 in-depth interviews were conducted with health care providers, NGO staff, policymakers, beneficiaries, and nonbeneficiaries of the intervention, and was interpreted by 4 independent researchers using reflexive thematic analysis to identify facilitators and barriers to implementation. ResultsThe interrupted time series analysis showed a significant negative impact on health care utilization, indicating a reduction in health care–seeking behavior after the end of the cash transfer intervention. The effect was stronger in the slope change of patient numbers per month (defined as PP ConclusionsThe conditional cash transfer intervention was overarchingly successful in increasing health care utilization in southern Madagascar in a humanitarian setting. However, this success was conditional on key implementation factors at the community, facility, and NGO levels. In the future, similar interventions should proactively consider the key factors identified in this study to optimize the impact.https://mhealth.jmir.org/2025/1/e60811
spellingShingle Mara Anna Franke
Anne Neumann
Kim Nordmann
Daniela Suleymanova
Onja Gabrielle Ravololohanitra
Julius Valentin Emmrich
Samuel Knauss
Impact of a Mobile Money–Based Conditional Cash Transfer Intervention on Health Care Utilization in Southern Madagascar: Mixed-Methods Study
JMIR mHealth and uHealth
title Impact of a Mobile Money–Based Conditional Cash Transfer Intervention on Health Care Utilization in Southern Madagascar: Mixed-Methods Study
title_full Impact of a Mobile Money–Based Conditional Cash Transfer Intervention on Health Care Utilization in Southern Madagascar: Mixed-Methods Study
title_fullStr Impact of a Mobile Money–Based Conditional Cash Transfer Intervention on Health Care Utilization in Southern Madagascar: Mixed-Methods Study
title_full_unstemmed Impact of a Mobile Money–Based Conditional Cash Transfer Intervention on Health Care Utilization in Southern Madagascar: Mixed-Methods Study
title_short Impact of a Mobile Money–Based Conditional Cash Transfer Intervention on Health Care Utilization in Southern Madagascar: Mixed-Methods Study
title_sort impact of a mobile money based conditional cash transfer intervention on health care utilization in southern madagascar mixed methods study
url https://mhealth.jmir.org/2025/1/e60811
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