title: Microcredit participation and women's health: results from a cross-sectional study in Peru.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Social and economic conditions are powerful determinants of women's health status. Microcredit, which involves the provision of small loans to low-income women in the hopes of improving their living conditions, is an increasingly popular intervention to improve women's socioeconomic status. Studies examining the health effects of microcredit programs have had mixed results.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conduct a cross-sectional study among female clients of a non-profit microcredit program in Peru (N = 1,593). The predictor variable is length of microcredit participation. We conduct bivariate and multivariate linear regressions to examine the associations between length of microcredit participation and a variety of measures of women's health. We control for participants' sociodemographic characteristics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We find that longer participation is associated with decreased depressive symptoms, increased social support, and increased perceived control, but these differences are attenuated with the inclusion of covariates. We find no association between length of participation and contraception use, cancer screening, or self-reported days sick.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results demonstrate a positive association between length of microcredit participation and measures of women's psychological health, but not physical health. These findings contribute to the discussion on the potential of microcredit programs to address the socioeconomic determinants of health, and suggest that addressing socioeconomic status may be a key way to improve women's health worldwide.
authors.affiliation: Division of General Medical Disciplines, Stanford University, 1070 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USA. rhamad@stanford.edu.
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hamad
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley, 50 University Hall, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA. fernald@berkeley.edu.
authors.forename: Lia C H
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Fernald
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D000068097:Maternal Health / Q000191:economics*; D010568:Peru / Q000453:epidemiology; D011203:Poverty / Q000191:economics / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors