Harvard Public Health

Each year in sub-Saharan African more than a million women and newborns die during childbirth—or shortly thereafter. One key to preventing these deaths is making sure women deliver in high-quality health care facilities. But in many areas—such as Nairobi, Kenya—women are faced with an overwhelming number of choices of where to give birth, with few high-quality options. In this week's episode, we'll take a look at how researchers are using lessons from behavioral economics to see if they can influence women to give birth at the higher quality facilities—and in turn receive better care. We'll speak with Jessica Cohen, associate professor of global health, about her research, which draws on knowledge about human psychology to better understand how people make decisions. The key question at the center of her new study: Can behavioral "nudges" in the form of cash transfers lead to better maternity care? Later in the episode, you'll hear from Roman Pabayo, research fellow in the Department of Social and B