Economic preferences, risk beliefs, and take-up of preventative health care: Experimental evidence from Zimbabwe

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Abstract

Despite free and wide availability, demand for HIV prevention remains weak in low-income, high-risk settings. We conduct a randomised controlled field experiment to evaluate the extent to which feedback-based interactive information on HIV risks and benefits of prevention, along with clinic referrals, increases take-up of a relatively recently available free prevention method – Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV. Our sample is a general population cohort of women aged 18-24 years in a low-income, high-risk setting – Eastern Zimbabwe. We measure their risk beliefs before and after the intervention, and their risk, time, and social preferences at baseline and at multiple points in time using incentive-compatible tasks. Six months after the intervention, we find a large correction in risk beliefs. Against a background of very low baseline take-up, within the six months we find a large relative increase in take-up of the prevention method. We find no evidence suggestive of risk compensation resulting from the intervention. We find take-up of PrEP is primarily amongst women with time-consistent preferences. We also find that experimental measures of economic preferences, in particular social preferences, are significant predictors of future risky sexual behaviours.

The Speaker

Matteo M. Galizzi is Associate Professor of Behavioural Science, Director of the LSE Executive MSc in Behavioural Science, and Co-Director of the LSE Behavioural Lab. He is affiliated to the LSE Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science (PBS), is in the Steering Group of the LSE Global Health Initiative, and in the LSE Executive MSc Management Board.