Evaluation of Impacts of Access to Credit and Loan Size for Microcredit Clients in South Africa

Depression Clinical Trial

Official title:

Evaluation of Impacts of Access to Credit and Loan Size for Microcredit Clients in South Africa

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT00700349
• Other study ID #: IPA-2004-SA
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• First received: June 16, 2008
• Last updated: June 17, 2008
• Start date: September 2004
• Est. completion date: November 2005

Study information

• Verified date: June 2008
• Source: Innovations for Poverty Action
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: United States: Institutional Review Board
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

This study involves randomization of individuals who were initially rejected from a micro-lending organization in South Africa. Subjects were placed into two arms: (1) not receiving a loan; (2) being reconsidered for a "second look." Of those in the second arm, 53% were then selected by the organization's loan officers to receive a standard loan for first-time borrowers. Mental health and financial data were collected at one timepoint: approximately 6-12 months after the subjects first applied for the loan.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 3000
• Est. completion date: November 2005
• Est. primary completion date: November 2005
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: Both
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Subjects were recruited from those who had been rejected from a lending organization for non-fraudulent or non-overindebtness reasons.

Exclusion Criteria:

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Single Blind (Outcomes Assessor)

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Depression
• Mental Health
• Stress

Intervention

Other:
• Small loan
Applicants in the treatment group were offered an interest rate, loan size, and maturity per the lender's standard underwriting criteria, involving a 4-month maturity at 11.75% per month, charged on the original balance (200% annual percentage rate).

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
South Africa	Innovations for Poverty Action	Cape Town
South Africa	Innovations for Poverty Action	Durban
South Africa	Innovations for Poverty Action	Port Elizabeth

Sponsors (7)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Innovations for Poverty Action	Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Broadening Access and Strengthening Input Market Systems/USAID, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Princeton University, Social Science Research Council Program in Applied Economics, U.S. National Science Foundation

Country where clinical trial is conducted

South Africa, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), a 20-item questionnaire (0 = no risk, 60 = highest risk)		At follow-up (6-12 months after subject enrollment)	No
Primary	Perceived stress, measured using the Cohen's Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), a 10-item questionnaire (0 = no stress, 40 = high stress)		At follow-up (6-12 months after subject enrollment)	No
Secondary	Household income, measured by a variety of questions that asked about all sources of income obtained by all members of the applicant's household.		At follow-up (6-12 months after subject enrollment)	No