Health Care UtilizationNCT05778578
Universal Basic Income and Structural Racism in the US South
A study testing Universal Basic Income in people with Health Care Utilization, run by University of Arkansas at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
This Stage 3 efficacy study aims to address the critical need for interventions that increase access to appropriate community-based healthcare services, especially for those who have a history of incarceration and inform health policy by testing an intervention that directly reduces the racial income gap by providing… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 45 years and older, men only
- Conditions the study is for
- Health Care Utilization
- What is being tested?
- Universal Basic Income
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 194 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 28 Sep 2023to 13 Mar 2025
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 45 years and older
- Men only
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- self-report as having received from a medical professional a diagnosis for at least one chronic health condition (if chronic condition is HIV see supplement to this study (NCT NCT06186128));
- be at least 45 years old;
- be within 6 months of release from a correctional setting in Arkansas at the time of enrollment (only for those participants with a history of incarceration which will comprise half of the sample population for Aim 2);
- be able to understand and speak English and to provide written and verbal informed consent;
- plan to remain in the central Arkansas area for the duration of the study period;
- be willing and able to provide bi-weekly information about all activities related to seeking employment and to share financial and income-related information with the study team;
Show all 11Show fewer
- self-identify as Black or African American;
- have been assigned the male gender at birth;
- be willing to provide medical releases to allow project staff to access healthcare records;
- not be currently engaged in healthcare services (defined as not having attended a primary or specialty medical care visit in the past 12 months (excluding any visits to the emergency department or rooms or urgent care clinics in the last 12 months); and
- have a median annual income up to 400% of the federal poverty threshold (the federal poverty threshold is defined as an annual income of less than $12,760 for single adults or $17,240 if a married couple files jointly) in the 12-month period prior to study enrollment or prior to their most current episode of incarceration.
Who cannot join
- -
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Little Rock, Arkansas, 72204
About this study
Official title: Universal Basic Income and Structural Racism in the US South: Differences in Health Service Utilization Between Older African American Men With and Without Experiences of Recent Incarceration
This Stage 3 efficacy study aims to address the critical need for interventions that increase access to appropriate community-based healthcare services, especially for those who have a history of incarceration and inform health policy by testing an intervention that directly reduces the racial income gap by providing a universal basic income (UBI). UBI is intended to promote and protect Black men's health through the influx of capital and subsequent increases in culturally-based protective factors such as personal agency and social connections. Participants will be split into 2 groups: the control and the intervention. Participants in the intervention group will be provided UBI of $500 per month for 6 months to increase healthcare utilization among chronically-ill, low-income Black men.
Read the detailed description
Structural racism and discrimination (SRD) are complex and drive racial inequities. SRD has sustained racial health disparities in the United States, driven disproportionate incarceration risk among Black men, and systematically restricted minority populations from health, wealth, and prosperity. As a result, diminished income earning ability for generations of Black people has led to economic devastation and poor health. Importantly, older and aging Black men continue to earn less than their White counterparts and the income gap is continuing to widen. Even when accounting for education, research has shown that the rising wage gap is attributable to workforce experience and opportunity, hiring and wage discrimination, and incarceration. Difficulty attaining prevailing wages among older Black men affects family stability, the ability for communities to thrive, and population health. Geography, place, and proximity to capital and markets are underlying drivers of health behavior and healthcare access. As a result, older and aging Black men in particular have demonstrated one of the strongest epidemiologic relationships between low socioeconomic status, residence in communities with endemic poverty, and chronic disease. The proposed Stage 3 efficacy study aims to test a novel intervention that directly reduces the racial income gap by providing a universal basic income (UBI). UBI is intended to promote and protect Black men's health through the influx of capital and subsequent increases in personal agency and social connections. We hypothesize that providing UBI of $500 per month for six months will result in increased healthcare utilization among chronically-ill, older and aging, low-income Black men. Secondarily, we hypothesize that the effect of UBI will depend on whether an individual has a recent history of incarceration, such that no incarceration history combined with UBI ill demonstrate the best study outcomes.
Empirical research examining UBI among older Black men and its capacity to overturn SRD are lacking in the extant literature. Much of the health disparities research intended to inform health and economic policy originated from limited perspectives of older and aging Black men. Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois said in The Souls of Black Folk that for Black people, "discouragement is an unwritten word". This study draws on that inspiration as it ultimately seeks to fundamentally overturn the economic oppression and brutality that has defined the Black experience for generations.
- Conditions
- Health Care Utilization
- Being tested
- Universal Basic Income
- Medical subject headings
- Patient Acceptance of Health Care
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Universal Basic IncomeBehavioural
Universal basic income (UBI) is a system that gives everyone a minimum amount of money regularly, regardless of their income or work status.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Control | No intervention | All participants will receive the following: 1) a ClinCard and instructions for completing a weekly financial journal to record participants' spending patterns and social needs during the first 6 months of the study; 2) materials about financial literacy and community-based resources that provide support to low-income individuals; 3) description and instructions for follow-up assessments and check-ins; 4) a copy of signed medical release, consent, and HIPAA forms; 5) respondent-driven sampling referral cards; 6) 3 study referral cards, and 7) information about voter registration services provided through the Pulaski County Circuit and County Clerk's Office (https://www.pulaskiclerk.com/voter-registration/). Participants will be provided information about the importance of voting, restoration of voting rights, and the process of voting and sealing records. |
| Intervention | Experimental | Participants in Arm 2 will receive a monthly UBI stipend of $500 for 6 months. Study staff will explain that UBI payments will continue for 6 months and that the UBI payments will be suspended if an individual is reincarcerated (e.g. the participant will not receive UBI payments to their ClinCard during months of incarceration and will not receive additional months post-release from incarceration). Participants will receive their monthly UBI payment, along with all study-related compensation for completing baseline and follow-up assessments, through a ClinCard, which is a loadable debit card with an ID number unique to the participant. The UBI will be loaded to the participant's ClinCard on the first day of each month. Receives: Behavioral: Universal Basic Income |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Healthcare service utilization
This will be obtained through dichotomous variables yes/no, measured by self-report) adapted from the National Health Interview Survey, collected retrospectively at 6-month and 12-month follow-up timepoints. We also will use medical chart abstraction to confirm self-reported use of healthcare services.
Measured: 1 year
Secondary outcomes (4)
Increased enrollment in & use of social service and healthcare programs and increased voting
This will be measured by self-report and PhenX Toolkit collection.
Measured: 1 year
More transportation options/greater social engagement/greater ability to fulfill cultural norms & perceived gender role
This will be measured by self-report and PhenX Toolkit collection.
Measured: 1 year
Improved social connections/ greater receipt of social support/greater ability to pursue educational & employment opportunities
This will be measured by self-report and PhenX Toolkit collection.
Measured: 1 year
Greater income/improved self-esteems/reduced stress/affirmed personal agency/improved mental health & more time for health promoting behaviors
This will be measured by self-report and PhenX Toolkit collection.
Measured: 1 year
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted21 Mar 2023
- Study start28 Sep 2023
- Primary completion13 Mar 2025
- Study completion13 Mar 2025
Why it stopped: Study was terminated by the federal funder.
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Health Care UtilizationStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by University of ArkansasThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Health services research
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Participant
- Enrolment
- 194 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Arkansas
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Ashley E Williams, MHS, Study director, University of Arkansas
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05778578
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 274097
- Status last verified
- Sep 2025
- First submitted
- 27 Feb 2023
- Last updated
- 16 Oct 2025
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 16 Oct 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Universal Basic Income and Structural Racism in the US South: Differences in Health Service Utilization Between Older African American Men With and Without Experiences of Recent Incarceration
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05778578
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 274097
- Conditions
- Health Care Utilization
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- TerminatedReason stopped: Study was terminated by the federal funder.
- Enrolment
- 194 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- University of ArkansasUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 28 Sep 2023 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 13 Mar 2025 (actual)
- Study completion
- 13 Mar 2025 (actual)
- First posted
- 21 Mar 2023 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This Stage 3 efficacy study aims to address the critical need for interventions that increase access to appropriate community-based healthcare services, especially for those who have a history of incarceration and inform health policy by testing an intervention that directly reduces the racial income gap by providing a universal basic income (UBI). UBI is intended to promote and protect Black men's health through the influx of capital and subsequent increases in culturally-based protective factors such as personal agency and social connections. Participants will be split into 2 groups: the control and the intervention. Participants in the intervention group will be provided UBI of $500 per month for 6 months to increase healthcare utilization among chronically-ill, low-income Black men.
Detailed description
Structural racism and discrimination (SRD) are complex and drive racial inequities. SRD has sustained racial health disparities in the United States, driven disproportionate incarceration risk among Black men, and systematically restricted minority populations from health, wealth, and prosperity. As a result, diminished income earning ability for generations of Black people has led to economic devastation and poor health. Importantly, older and aging Black men continue to earn less than their White counterparts and the income gap is continuing to widen. Even when accounting for education, research has shown that the rising wage gap is attributable to workforce experience and opportunity, hiring and wage discrimination, and incarceration. Difficulty attaining prevailing wages among older Black men affects family stability, the ability for communities to thrive, and population health. Geography, place, and proximity to capital and markets are underlying drivers of health behavior and healthcare access. As a result, older and aging Black men in particular have demonstrated one of the strongest epidemiologic relationships between low socioeconomic status, residence in communities with endemic poverty, and chronic disease. The proposed Stage 3 efficacy study aims to test a novel intervention that directly reduces the racial income gap by providing a universal basic income (UBI). UBI is intended to promote and protect Black men's health through the influx of capital and subsequent increases in personal agency and social connections. We hypothesize that providing UBI of $500 per month for six months will result in increased healthcare utilization among chronically-ill, older and aging, low-income Black men. Secondarily, we hypothesize that the effect of UBI will depend on whether an individual has a recent history of incarceration, such that no incarceration history combined with UBI ill demonstrate the best study outcomes.
Empirical research examining UBI among older Black men and its capacity to overturn SRD are lacking in the extant literature. Much of the health disparities research intended to inform health and economic policy originated from limited perspectives of older and aging Black men. Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois said in The Souls of Black Folk that for Black people, "discouragement is an unwritten word". This study draws on that inspiration as it ultimately seeks to fundamentally overturn the economic oppression and brutality that has defined the Black experience for generations.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Health services research
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind (participant)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Control | No intervention | –All participants will receive the following: 1) a ClinCard and instructions for completing a weekly financial journal to record participants' spending patterns and social needs during the first 6 months of the study; 2) materials about financial literacy and community-based resources that provide support to low-income individuals; 3) description and instructions for follow-up assessments and check-ins; 4) a copy of signed medical release, consent, and HIPAA forms; 5) respondent-driven sampling referral cards; 6) 3 study referral cards, and 7) information about voter registration services provided through the Pulaski County Circuit and County Clerk's Office (https://www.pulaskiclerk.com/voter-registration/). Participants will be provided information about the importance of voting, restoration of voting rights, and the process of voting and sealing records. |
| Intervention | Experimental | Behavioral: Universal Basic IncomeParticipants in Arm 2 will receive a monthly UBI stipend of $500 for 6 months. Study staff will explain that UBI payments will continue for 6 months and that the UBI payments will be suspended if an individual is reincarcerated (e.g. the participant will not receive UBI payments to their ClinCard during months of incarceration and will not receive additional months post-release from incarceration). Participants will receive their monthly UBI payment, along with all study-related compensation for completing baseline and follow-up assessments, through a ClinCard, which is a loadable debit card with an ID number unique to the participant. The UBI will be loaded to the participant's ClinCard on the first day of each month. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 45 years and older
- Sex
- Male only
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (11 listed)
- self-report as having received from a medical professional a diagnosis for at least one chronic health condition (if chronic condition is HIV see supplement to this study (NCT NCT06186128));
- be at least 45 years old;
- be within 6 months of release from a correctional setting in Arkansas at the time of enrollment (only for those participants with a history of incarceration which will comprise half of the sample population for Aim 2);
- be able to understand and speak English and to provide written and verbal informed consent;
- plan to remain in the central Arkansas area for the duration of the study period;
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- -
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Universal Basic IncomeUniversal basic income (UBI) is a system that gives everyone a minimum amount of money regularly, regardless of their income or work status. | Behavioural | Intervention |
Primary outcome
Healthcare service utilization
Time frame: 1 year
This will be obtained through dichotomous variables yes/no, measured by self-report) adapted from the National Health Interview Survey, collected retrospectively at 6-month and 12-month follow-up timepoints. We also will use medical chart abstraction to confirm self-reported use of healthcare services.
4 secondary outcomes
Increased enrollment in & use of social service and healthcare programs and increased voting
Time frame: 1 year
More transportation options/greater social engagement/greater ability to fulfill cultural norms & perceived gender role
Time frame: 1 year
Improved social connections/ greater receipt of social support/greater ability to pursue educational & employment opportunities
Time frame: 1 year
Greater income/improved self-esteems/reduced stress/affirmed personal agency/improved mental health & more time for health promoting behaviors
Time frame: 1 year
Results and safety
The study was stopped early (reason given: Study was terminated by the federal funder.). Results are not available in the source record.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 16 Oct 2025.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Ashley E Williams, MHS study director
University of Arkansas
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Universal Basic Income in people with Health Care Utilization, run by University of Arkansas at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 11 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: stopped early, as of the sponsor's last update on 16 Oct 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study was stopped early (reason given: Study was terminated by the federal funder.). Results are not available in the source record.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Healthcare service utilization (time frame: 1 year). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 16 Oct 2025.