Effect of Sexuality and Procreation Education on Health and Poverty Reduction of Girls in Rural China - The Case study in Gansu Province, China

1
Effect of Sexuality and Procreation Education on
Health and Poverty Reduction of Girls in Rural
China - The Case study in Gansu Province, China

• Authors Wei Qu, Quin Tu
• Comments Martín Valdivia

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Summary of the proposal

• Study seeks to evaluate the impact of training on
  sexuality and reproduction upon sexual health and
  practices of rural female adolescents in China
• Change their sexual behavior
• Improve their health status
• improve their opportunities for human capital
  accumulation and
• increase future income.
• Randomized experiment is proposed based on a
  sample of rural girls of recent migration to
  urban settings

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General Assessment

• This is an interesting intervention with a sound
  identification strategy for the impacts
• It focuses on a particularly vulnerable
  population
• Rural household investments in girls is lower
  than for men
• Early migration (secondary school graduates) to
  urban cities exposes them to high social risks
  (unsafe abortion, early pregnancy, STDs)
• With long-lasting effects (human K accumulation,
  income)
• Proposed intervention to study one-week training
  program on sexuality and procreation issues
• Identification strategy randomized selection of
  beneficiaries from a sample of recent migrants
  (1-2 years)

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Key issues

• Expected impact of the intervention
• What is the likelihood that a one-week training
  program on sexuality and procreation issues would
  have meaningful effects over outcomes of
  interest?
• There is not yet a full description of this
  training, although consultation with experts is
  considered
• Selection of treatment and control groups
• Information spilled over control women if they
  are located in same neighborhoods, belong to same
  social networks?
• Self-selection to accept participation in the
  program?
• Timeline of effects.
• What kind of effects appear during the first two
  years?
• Which outcomes are more likely to show impacts
  during the time span of the project?

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Key issues

• Assumptions for sample size (power calculations)
• mean and variance for outcomes of interest
• estimated effects of intervention
• Attrition?
• Sensitivity of issues and data collection
• Strategies to collect self-reports about
  abortion, STDs
• If tests are included, sample selection issues?
• Human subjects concerns