The Share Trust compiled an evidence review on the role social capacities play in driving demand to stimulate positive nutrition outcomes, particularly when they are promoted through Self Help Groups.
Read MoreSaggurti et al. (2019) assessed the effect of a newborn care intervention through SHGs on improving new-born healthcare practices in rural Bihar, India. The quasi experimental study deemed that sharing messages on appropriate new-born practices through SHGs did in fact improve new-born care practices, evident within one year of the intervention.
Read MoreUsing cross-sectional data from 2015, Kumar et al. (2019) looked into the potential for women’s SHGs to improve access to and use of public entitlement schemes in India. They found that while SHGs do not increase awareness of these schemes, SHG members are significantly more likely to make use of them. SHG members were also found to be more politically active than non-members.
Read MoreIn an evidence review that studied 46 high quality evaluations of interventions delivered through SHGs in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, Gugerty et al. (2019) found that though the impacts of SHG-based interventions were generally positive, the evidence base was limited and did not generally test whether alternative delivery mechanisms might be more effective.
Read MoreA report by People in Need describes the SHG approach in urban Afghanistan, focusing on three main components: social development, economic development and institutional stability. The SHG approach leads to the social empowerment of its members through building communities of interdependence and mutual trust. Members experience economic empowerment in the medium to long term. Institutional stability can be achieved through the SHG approach over time.
Read MoreRuducha et al. (2018) explored whether social and advice networks affect the likelihood of immediate breastfeeding for recently delivered women, sampling 185 women from 36 villages in Uttar Pradesh, India. They found that women living in villages with an SHG had consistently higher numbers of relationship ties, health advice ties and higher density of health advice networks than women living in non-SHG areas. These ties then increased access to health messaging and strengthened the bond between local health providers and beneficiaries.
Read MoreIn a quasi-experimental study in India, Saggurti et al. (2018) sampled 1,182 groups (810 SHG groups and 372 control groups) to determine whether an eight-session behavior-change health intervention effected healthy maternal and newborn practices (MNCH). They found that structured participatory communication on MNCH with women’s groups improved positive health practices.
Read MoreSince marginalized groups are not easily reached through frontline health workers in Uttar Pradesh, India, Mozumdar et al. (2018) examined SHGs as a vehicle to improve knowledge of home based maternal and newborn care (HBMNC). Findings showed that SHGs can increase HBMNC knowledge among women as there were significant net-increases in women’s knowledge for most of the topics. The most significant determinant of the increase of knowledge was the women's education level.
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