Background of the Project:
MOMODa FOUNDATION has been selected as a partner organization for conducting the trial of ‘Transforming Households with Refraction and Innovative Financial Technology’ (THRIFT) of ENGINE studies to understand the impact of eyeglasses on expanding financial inclusion for older adults, particularly through mobile banking. This trial will examine the impact of free reading glasses to support the use of smartphone banking apps in Bangladesh among elderly recipients of Government Old Age Allowance payments.
The study will capitalize on Bangladesh
Government’s plan to digitize all social safety net payments to the elderly. Along
with MOMODa the THRIFT study will be implemented by Vision Spring, Good
Business Lab, University of Michigan, Florida International University, BRAC
James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, and the University of
Dhaka. Remarking on this research initiative as a testament to the collaborative
spirit of the eye-care sector, the researchers expect the THRIFT results will
shape financial inclusion and health policies that facilitate older adults’ participation in mobile banking and associated safety net programs.
Carrying Out the Project
THRIFT capitalizes on the Bangladesh Government’s plan to digitize all social safety net payments to the elderly by providing free glasses and training to help older adults use smartphones and improve their financial independence.
The idea behind THRIFT is simply to provide glasses and basic smartphone training to elderly recipients of old-age payments in Bangladesh. The trial will then compare the financial independence of people who receive a smartphone alongside glasses and training with a control group who receive a smartphone alone.
The
study also tests the hypothesis that, by improving access to online banking,
participants will experience improvements in many areas of their life,
including food security, COVID-safe behaviours, and financial security. The
ultimate aim of the program is for vision care to be included as an integral
part when Bangladesh’s innovative program of online banking for the elderly is
replicated throughout the world.
Key
Features of the Project
- Objectives: To measure the impacts of free
vision corrected reading glasses combined with digital financial services (DFS)
training to support the adoption and use of mobile banking in Bangladesh, who
are recipients of digitized government OAA benefits and WA benefits.
- Sample Size: 400 participants who are the
recipients of government digital Old Age Allowance/Widowed-Allowance payments.
- Outcome: this research will shape
financial inclusion and health policies that facilitate older adults’
participation in mobile banking and associated safety net programs.
- Project Period: From July 2022 to
December 2023
The project is now in the preparatory phase. In this
phase, several meetings have been conducted among the parties to clarify the
idea of the projects and to understand the role and responsibilities of each
party involved in this multi-stakeholder research. MOMODa FOUNDATION has
already developed a social screening protocol and shared it with other parties
for finalization.
Funding authority:
The
Wellcome Trust, United Kingdom
The
Chen Yet-Sen Family Foundation, Hong Kong
The
Clearly Initiatives, United Kingdom
Chief Investigator
1. Professor
Dr Nathan Congdon, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
Centre
for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, United Kingdom.
Co-Investigators
1. Dr Atonu Rabbani, The Mushtaque Chowdhury Professor of
Health and Poverty, James P Grant School of Public Health (JPGSPH), BRAC
University & Associate Professor of Economics, University of Dhaka.
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