Improving the health and education of elementary schoolchildren in rural China : iron supplementation versus nutritional training for parents

Document Type

Journal article

Source Publication

Journal of Development Studies

Publication Date

5-1-2014

Volume

50

Issue

4

First Page

502

Last Page

519

Abstract

We report on the results of a randomised controlled trial conducted among over 2,000 children in 60 elementary schools in rural Shaanxi Province, North-west China. We find that providing children with daily iron supplements for six months improved children’s haemoglobin levels and standardised maths scores. In comparison, educating parents about nutrition and anaemia in a special parents meeting produced a modest impact on children’s haemoglobin levels. We also find heterogeneous intervention effects by children’s gender, anaemia status and boarding status. Overall, iron supplementation is more effective. However, given its low cost and simple implementation, parental education should still be considered.

DOI

10.1080/00220388.2013.866223

Print ISSN

00220388

E-ISSN

17439140

Publisher Statement

Copyright © 2014 Taylor & Francis

Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.

Full-text Version

Publisher’s Version

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Wong, H. L., Shi, Y., Luo, R., Zhang, L., & Rozelle, S. (2014). Improving the health and education of elementary schoolchildren in rural China : iron supplementation versus nutritional training for parents. Journal of Development Studies, 50(4), 502-519. doi: 10.1080/00220388.2013.866223

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