Participation and membership in microfinance based self help groups in India

In the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, the Population Council and partners evaluated the effect of an integrated microfinance and health literacy program on household access to credit and maternal, neonatal health outcomes, and adoption of desired health behaviors. Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the community program was implemented by a consortium comprising the Public Health Foundation of India, Population Council, Boston University, and Rajiv Gandhi Mahila Pariyojana. This dataset includes findings from two cross-sectional survey rounds conducted in 2015 and 2017. The surveys included households with women who had delivered a baby within the past year who had received messages on maternal and neonatal health through self help groups, and women in program households that did not receive health messages. The dataset also captures findings from neighboring non-program households in villages where only a microfinance program and a microfinance and health program were implemented. The dataset merges data (households + eligible woman + village) from each survey round and appends data from rounds 1 and 2 to examine the determinants of joining and continuing memberships in microfinance groups.