scholarly journals Reducing Parent-School Information Gaps and Improving Education Outcomes: Evidence from High-Frequency Text Messages

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Berlinski ◽  
Matías Busso ◽  
Taryn Dinkelman ◽  
Claudia Martínez A.
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Grade Retention ◽  
Classroom Behavior ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Text Messages ◽  
Behavioral Changes ◽  
Lower Income ◽  
Education Outcomes ◽  
Percentage Points

We conducted an experiment in low-income schools in Chile to test the effects and behavioral changes triggered by a program that sends attendance, grade, and classroom behavior information to parents via weekly and monthly text messages. Our 18-month intervention raised average math GPA by 0.09 of a standard deviation and increased the share of students satisfying attendance requirements for grade promotion by 4.5 percentage points. Treatment effects were larger for students at higher risk of later grade retention and dropout. Leveraging existing school inputs for a light-touch, cost-effective, and scalable information intervention can improve education outcomes in lower-income settings.

Research Insights: Can Low-Cost Communication Technologies Bridge Information Gaps between Schools and Parents?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Berlinski ◽  
Matías Busso ◽  
Taryn Dinkelman ◽  
Claudia Martínez
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Standard Deviation ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
At Risk Students ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Text Messages ◽  
School Absenteeism ◽  
School Behavior ◽  
Percentage Points

We document large gaps between parents knowledge and school reports of students attendance and grades. Sending frequent text messages with information on attendance, grades and school behavior shrinks those gaps. Parents of at-risk students adjust their understanding of their children's performance to the greatest degree. High-frequency text messages had positive impacts on grades and attendance. Math GPA increased 0.08 of a standard deviation; the probability of earning a passing grade in math increased by 2.7 percentage points (relative to a mean of 90 percent). The intervention also reduced school absenteeism by 1 percentage point and increased the share of students who met attendance requirements for grade promotion by 4.5 percentage points.

scholarly journals Testing behavioral interventions designed to improve on-time SNAP recertification

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonard M. Lopoo ◽  
Colleen Heflin ◽  
Joseph Boskovski
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Text Messaging ◽  
Behavioral Interventions ◽  
Text Message ◽  
Text Messages ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Hennepin County ◽  
Different Levels

We report results from a series of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) run between January 2019 and February 2020 testing behavioral interventions designed to increase the likelihood that SNAP recipients recertify on-time in Hennepin County, the most populous county in Minnesota. Given the different levels of governance and the abundance of qualifying rules and processes that low-income households must negotiate to obtain and retain SNAP food assistance benefits, many households may fail to recertify for SNAP. Administrative burden includes the difficulties created by having to learn deadlines and which forms constitute the proper paperwork necessary to recertify. In our main intervention, we test a three-armed study (n=23,756), comparing the efficacy of the Hennepin County SNAP recertification auto-dialer communication, a behaviorally-informed text message, and a third arm with both the Hennepin county autodialer and our text message, against a control group that did not receive any reminder at the beginning of the recertification month but did receive other standard written communications. Results from this trial show that the autodialer is not an effective reminder. However, the interventions with text messages are effective in improving recertification rates around five percent (p<0.01) over no additional message and around two percentage points (p<0.05) over the Hennepin County autodialer message currently being used. Text messaging appears to be particularly effective for SNAP recipients under the age of 60 with low to moderate levels of education.

scholarly journals Reducing Parent-School Information Gaps and Improving Education Outcomes: Evidence from High-Frequency Text Messages

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Berlinski ◽  
Matias Busso ◽  
Taryn Dinkelman ◽  
Claudia Martínez A.
Keyword(s):  
High Frequency ◽  
Text Messages ◽  
Education Outcomes ◽  
Information Gaps

scholarly journals Aptamer-Based Diagnostic Systems for the Rapid Screening of TB at the Point-of-Care

Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1352
Author(s):  
Darius Riziki Martin ◽  
Nicole Remaliah Sibuyi ◽  
Phumuzile Dube ◽  
Adewale Oluwaseun Fadaka ◽  
Ruben Cloete ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Rapid Screening ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Sputum Smear ◽  
Diagnostic Systems ◽  
Molecular Tests ◽  
Rapid Tests

The transmission of Tuberculosis (TB) is very rapid and the burden it places on health care systems is felt globally. The effective management and prevention of this disease requires that it is detected early. Current TB diagnostic approaches, such as the culture, sputum smear, skin tuberculin, and molecular tests are time-consuming, and some are unaffordable for low-income countries. Rapid tests for disease biomarker detection are mostly based on immunological assays that use antibodies which are costly to produce, have low sensitivity and stability. Aptamers can replace antibodies in these diagnostic tests for the development of new rapid tests that are more cost effective; more stable at high temperatures and therefore have a better shelf life; do not have batch-to-batch variations, and thus more consistently bind to a specific target with similar or higher specificity and selectivity and are therefore more reliable. Advancements in TB research, in particular the application of proteomics to identify TB specific biomarkers, led to the identification of a number of biomarker proteins, that can be used to develop aptamer-based diagnostic assays able to screen individuals at the point-of-care (POC) more efficiently in resource-limited settings.

scholarly journals Public Subsidies for Employees' Contributions to Employer-Sponsored Insurance

2001 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Merlis
Keyword(s):  
Health Insurance ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Tax Credits ◽  
Public Subsidies ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
Employee Premium Contributions ◽  
Premium Contributions ◽  
Insurance Tax ◽  
Fair Balance

Proposals to provide or subsidize health insurance for low-income families must take account of the fact that many workers have access to employer-sponsored insurance (ESI), but decline it because of required employee premium contributions. This article considers a tax credit for the employee share of ESI in the context of a broader program of income-based health insurance tax credits. Helping uninsured workers pay for available ESI could be more cost-effective than subsidizing their coverage in the nongroup market. The credit would also be available to workers who were already covered, both for equity reasons and to reduce the incentives for employers to drop coverage or for workers to shift to subsidized individual plans. One key issue is how to prevent employers from reducing their current health plan contributions to take advantage of the new funding. Other design questions considered by the article include whether workers should be able to choose between ESI and nongroup coverage, whether minimum benefit standards should apply for employer plans, and how to achieve a fair balance in subsidies for group and nongroup coverage.

Enhancing Reach Out and Read With a Video and Text Messages: A Randomized Trial in a Low-Income Predominantly Latino Sample

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel E. Jimenez ◽  
Benjamin F. Crabtree ◽  
Shawna V. Hudson ◽  
Alan L. Mendelsohn ◽  
Daniel Lima ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Randomized Trial ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Text Messages ◽  
Reach Out And Read

scholarly journals P.028 Global surgery for pediatric hydrocephalus in the developing world: a review of the history, challenges, and future directions

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (S2) ◽  
pp. S20-S20
Author(s):  
S Wang ◽  
RT Muir ◽  
BC Warf
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Developing World ◽  
Pediatric Neurosurgery ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Global Surgery ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Global Burden ◽  
Pediatric Hydrocephalus ◽  
Cost Effective Treatment ◽  
Education Gaps

Background: Pediatric hydrocephalus is one of the most common neurosurgical conditions and is a major contributor to the global burden of surgically treatable diseases. Methods: The authors conducted a literature review around the topic of pediatric hydrocephalus in the context of global surgery, the unique challenges to creating access to care in low-income countries, and current international efforts to address the problem. Results: Developing countries face the greatest burden of pediatric hydrocephalus due to high birth rates and greater risk of neonatal infections. This burden is related to more general global health challenges, including malnutrition, infectious diseases, maternal and perinatal risk factors, and education gaps. Unique challenges pertaining to the treatment of hydrocephalus in the developing world include a preponderance of postinfectious hydrocephalus, limited resources, and restricted access to neurosurgical care. In the 21st century, several organizations have established programs that provide hydrocephalus treatment and neurosurgical training in Africa, Central and South America, Haiti, and Southeast Asia. These international efforts have employed various models to achieve the goals of providing safe, sustainable, and cost-effective treatment. Conclusions: Broader commitment from the pediatric neurosurgery community, increased funding, public education, surgeon training, and ongoing surgical innovation will be needed to meaningfully address the global burden of untreated hydrocephalus.

scholarly journals Supporting Community College Students from Start to Degree Completion: Long-Term Evidence from a Randomized Trial of CUNY’s ASAP

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 253-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Weiss ◽  
Alyssa Ratledge ◽  
Colleen Sommo ◽  
Himani Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
Graduation Rates ◽  
Degree Completion ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Randomized Experiments ◽  
Low Income Students ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
The City

Nationwide, graduation rates at community colleges are discouragingly low. This randomized experiment provides evidence that graduation rates can be increased dramatically. The City University of New York’s (CUNY) Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) is a comprehensive, integrated, 3-year program that has an estimated 18 percentage point effect on 3-year graduation rates, increases 6-year graduation rates by an estimated 10 percentage points, and helps students graduate more quickly. Graduation effect estimates of this magnitude are exceptional in randomized experiments conducted in higher education, offering hope of what is possible when serving low-income students. (JEL H75, I23, I24, I28)

Making Books Affordable

2020 ◽  
pp. 15-26
Author(s):  
Lea Shaver
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Country Music ◽  
Growing Up ◽  
Childhood Experience ◽  
For Profit ◽  
American Children ◽  
Imagination Library

This chapter talks about country music star Dolly Parton, who is also a poet at heart. She is an avid reader, with an extensive book collection. As a child growing up in Appalachia, however, Dolly experienced book hunger first-hand. It explains how Dolly's own childhood experience motivated her to found the Imagination Library as a way to ensure that all children could experience the joy of book ownership. The chapter also discusses other organizations like First Book that reinvents the traditional book supply chain. Rather than relying on for-profit bookstores as an intermediary, First Book and Imagination Library have innovated alternative, more cost-effective systems to deliver books to children from low-income backgrounds. Through a combination of charitable dollars and cost savings, innovative nonprofits are bringing books to millions of American children who otherwise could not afford them.

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