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Project on Nutrition, Healthy and Education—Randomized Intervention Method Applied in Social Sciences Research
Release date：2009/5/5 Source： ccap
After design and preparation for nearly one year, Project on Nutrition, Healthy and Education has formally been put in practice. This project is cooperated by Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy,CAS, NorthWest social &economy development research center in NorthWest University, Medical college of Xi’an Communication University and China Institute for Educational Finance Research in Beijing University. As a core programme of Rural Education action Project, Randomized Intervention Method is introduced in this project. In order to promote the development of the rural eduction industry, especially in poor rural areas, We intervene the rural student’s food, nutrition, healthy and education through Randomized Intervention Method, analyze the interrelationships and estimate the intervention effects, finally provide scientific suggestions from practice to relevant policy makers, who make and modify the national rural education policy.In the whole implemention process,we randomly sampled around 5000 4th grade pupil from 66 rural elementary schools in Sha’an Xi province. The whole process include project design, Base survey, Randomized Intervention, Assessment and Surveillance, evaluation survey and data analysis. According to the design, we randomly sampled 12 schools to distribute antiscolics to pupil, to make sure they can effectively absorb the nutrition they taken. At the same time, we also randomly selected 12 sample schools to distribute multivitamin and multimineral supplement tablets to pupil, to make sure their nutrition balance. In order to compare the cross intervention effects, some of the selected schools were included in both of the above experiments. In the third experiments, we randomly selected another 12 sample schools to intervene by informations. We also selected other 18 sample schools as matched group. All the intervention experiments will be end in June,2009.
By now, the project design has been finished and base survey is carrying on. The project has gained warm support from local teachers and related educational department. Many interviewed teachers and pupil’s parents expressed that they hope more similar projects would be carried out in future, and more attentions should be paid on children’s healthy and their full development in countryside, especially in poor areas.
Over 30 surveyors took more than one month to carry out the base survey, at the same time they began the intervention experiments in the sample schools. Simplified paper cups were used in antiscolics intervention experiments to make sure the hygiene and safety, and to publicize enviroment protection as well. In the nutrition balance intervention experiment, we prepared detailed placards to tell the pupil how to take the multivitamin/multimineral supplement tablets correctively, and also equiped these sample schools with water bottles.
All the surveyors worked from dawn to night through the whole survey process. In some cases, the road condition is so poor that all the surveyors had to walk more than 5km to get to the sampled school to do the survey. In some cases, when the interviewed pupil happened to be sick and can’t walk, our surveyor carried the child on his back to and from the classroom and medical examination room. Some of sampled schools are located in remote areas and our surveyors had to stay over at towns with poor facilities, they can’t even take a shower after exhausted working. However, all our surveyors never complained about the difficulties, as all of their hearts exist a same conviction: that is to help all the children in the rural areas to become stronger, get better education and have a brighter future……
