Village-level data for the Honduras 176 RCT

Certain people occupy topological positions within social networks that enhance their effectiveness at inducing spillovers. We mapped face-to-face networks among 24,702 people in 176 isolated villages in Honduras and randomly assigned villages to targeting methods, varying the fraction of households receiving a 22-month health education package and the method by which households were chosen (randomly, or via the “friendship paradox” technique). We assessed 117 diverse knowledge, attitude, and practice outcomes. Friendship targeting at various thresholds reduced the number of households needed to attain specified levels of village-wide uptake. Knowledge spread more readily than behavior, and spillovers extended to two degrees of separation. Outcomes that were intrinsically easier to adopt also manifested greater spillovers. Network targeting using friendship nomination effectively promotes population-wide improvements in welfare via social contagion. 

Methods
The RCT was pre-registered in the following paper:

Shakya HB, et al., “Exploiting Social Influence to Magnify Population-Level Behavior Change in Maternal and Child Health: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Network Targeting Algorithms in Rural Honduras,” BMJ Open 2017; 7: e012996. (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012996)