Cash transfer during the COVID-19 pandemic: a multicentre, randomised controlled trial.
Fam Med Community Health
; 9(4)2021 12.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1626835
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To evaluate the effect of a one-time cash transfer of $C1000 in people who are unable to physically distance due to insufficient income.DESIGN:
Open-label, multi-centre, randomised superiority trial.SETTING:
Seven primary care sites in Ontario, Canada; six urban sites associated with St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto and one in Manitoulin Island.PARTICIPANTS:
392 individuals who reported trouble affording basic necessities due to disruptions related to COVID-19. INTERVENTION After random allocation, participants either received the cash transfer of $C1000 (n=196) or physical distancing guidelines alone (n=196). MAIN OUTCOMEMEASURES:
The primary outcome was the maximum number of symptoms consistent with COVID-19 over 14 days. Secondary outcomes were meeting clinical criteria for COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 presence, number of close contacts, general health and ability to afford basic necessities.RESULTS:
The primary outcome of number of symptoms reported by participants did not differ between groups after 2 weeks (cash transfer, mean 1.6 vs 1.9, ratio of means 0.83; 95% CI 0.56 to 1.24). There were no statistically significant effects on secondary outcomes of the meeting COVID-19 clinical criteria (7.9% vs 12.8%; risk difference -0.05; 95% CI -0.11 to 0.01), SARS-CoV-2 presence (0.5% vs 0.6%; risk difference 0.00 95% CI -0.02 to 0.02), mean number of close contacts (3.5 vs 3.7; rate ratio 1.10; 95% CI 0.83 to 1.46), general health very good or excellent (60% vs 63%; risk difference -0.03 95% CI -0.14 to 0.08) and ability to make ends meet (52% vs 51%; risk difference 0.01 95% CI -0.10 to 0.12).CONCLUSIONS:
A single cash transfer did not reduce the COVID-19 symptoms or improve the ability to afford necessities. Further studies are needed to determine whether some groups may benefit from financial supports and to determine if a higher level of support is beneficial. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER NCT04359264.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
North America
Language:
English
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Fmch-2021-001452
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS