POWER RCT dataset

This dataset contains the survey responses and biomarker data for 3 waves of the POWER RCT titled: "Protecting Women from Economic shocks to fight HIV in Africa (POWER)". It contains 2,909 observations from 1,147 respondents stratified almost equally between women engaged in commercial and transactional sex.

The main research hypothesis is that women who engage in transactional and commercial sex in Africa use risky sex as a way to cope for economic shocks. Providing health insurance to themselves and their economic dependents is effective to reduce risky sexual behaviours, and prevent STIs and HIV infection among women and girls who engage in commercial and transactional sex. The general objective of this research is to understand explore the role of economic shocks (e.g.,

illness, COVID-19) as a driver of heightened vulnerability of women to HIV in order to inform the design of novel public heath interventions to tackle STIs and HIV. The RCT aims to estimate the effectiveness of health insurance for high-risk women and their economic dependents as a strategy to prevent STI and HIV. The POWER project addresses important gaps in the current literature by answering to the following research questions:

- What is the role of economic shocks on STIs and HIV?

- How do economic shocks affect STIs and HIV?

- What is the effect of health insurance as a risk-coping strategy to reduce risky sexual behaviours, STIs and HIV?