ASIA
China 

In China, Population Council activities focus on reproductive tract infections (RTIs), improving the quality of care in reproductive health services, and population aging.

Women in China were previously thought to be at low risk for RTIs. But these infections are increasingly recognized as a major cause of reproductive morbidity in China, as well as in other developing countries. One of the most significant obstacles to improving diagnosis and treatment in rural populations is the insufficient supply of laboratory equipment and trained personnel in China.

Conducted in Yunnan province, the main components of the Council's RTI research program were:

• Reviewing and evaluating RTI educational materials designed for community members for the Yunnan Provincial Maternal and Child Health Hospital.

• Evaluating RTI research proposals that were submitted to the Institute for Health Sciences at the Kunming Medical College.

• Conducting an advanced RTI training workshop at Kunming Medical College for participants from provinces across the country.

• Assisting in the preparation of a publication comprising articles exploring the subject of RTIs. The contents are being translated into Chinese and distribution is expected shortly.

Reproductive health assessment of Yunnan Province 
With collaboration from the International Council on Management of Population Programmes and the World Health Organization, the Population Council is providing technical assistance to Kunming Medical College on a strategic assessment of the quality of the reproductive health services in Yunnan Province.

The final research report and recommendations are likely to discuss service improvements for the poorest members of the region. Further work on providing service to rural-urban migrants is now being planned.

Improving quality of care in China 
Previous Population Council activities in China included an effort to transform the State Family Planning Commission into an agency that provided services that better suited client needs. This project, funded by the Ford Foundation, was a collaboration with the commission and other research partners.

The commission focused on gradually phasing in an alternative approach for their existing family planning program. Important elements of the new system were improving client-provider relations and offering women a choice of contraceptives. The quality of care approach was well received by both clients and policymakers. Interest in program reform extended beyond the pilot counties and other counties appeared eager to join the quality of care experiment. Council staff have also provided technical assistance to the RTI component of the quality of care improvement project being implemented in Jiangsu province.

A comprehensive description of this project "Offering a Choice of Contraceptive Methods in Dequing County, China" can be found in the Population Council's Responding to Cairo: Case Studies of Changing Practice in Reproductive Health and Family Planning.

Population aging
One of the most important demographic phenomena taking place in China is population aging. The percentage of China's population aged 60 and older will triple over the next few decades. The reasons for this are tied to the rapid declines in fertility that China has experienced in sequence with its one-child policy. The Population Council is involved in a variety of projects that relate to population aging in China. In particular, the Council is examining health outcomes and determinants in China and their links to socioeconomic status and living arrangements. China is an important part of the Comparative Study of Health Transitions, a project taking place across several Asian settings. In examining aging in China, the Council is partnering with several institutions in the country, including the Capital University of Medical Sciences and the China Research Center on Aging.

Projects

• Comparative Study of Aging and Health in Asia

• Living Arrangements of Older Adults in the Developing World

• Monitoring HIV Program Coverage in Southeast Asia

• Socioeconomic Status and Health of Older Adults Across Diverse Settings

Publications/Resources on China