This is a two.year collaborative project between a group of scientists at the University of North Carolina led by Gail E. Henderson, Barry M. Popkin, and John Akin .. and Dr. Chen Xiaoshu, head of the Institute of Nutrition of the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine in Beijing. It is a study of health status and health behaviors in the context of dynamic social change in China, particularly in the countryside. In this project, the investigators will survey people in 3,000 Chinese households in eight provinces that have significantly different economic, demographic, and environmental conditions. They will work in coordination with the Institute's established nutrition surveillance sites throughout China. Information will be gathered at the community level on the conditions of health facilities, availability of transportation to these facilities, and types of public health programs. Information will be gathered from households on preventive health behaviors, types of health services used, and the cost and method of financing health care. The project is expected to be highly beneficial to both American and Chinese researchers. The Chinese investigators will gain valuable experience in gathering and analyzing health.related information and the U.S. group will be able to further their research agenda on the determinants of health and nutritional changes.
