Population Council Research that makes a difference

Malnutrition, infections, and delayed psychological and motor development are common among preschool children in low-income settings. Public-sector health services are a key factor in improving health and nutrition among young children. But there are gaps in current understanding of the impact of the quality of services and providers on child health and development.

This project will use four rounds of longitudinal data collected from a range of health service providers, including midwives, village health workers, and daycare providers. Some examples of the services these professionals provide are nutritional counseling, growth monitoring, nutritional supplementation, immunization, and vitamin and mineral supplements. Data collected include information gathered from innovative tests that measure providers’ knowledge, aptitude, and skills regarding the health and development of young children.

The study also will consider whether and how the human capital (e.g., schooling) of service providers and characteristics of health facilities affect early childhood health and development (e.g., health; nutrition; and cognitive, social, motor, and language development) and demand for related services. The analysis will further extend the existing literature through examination of a range of indicators of child health and development, including height, weight, hemoglobin levels, presence of worms, and seven domains of cognitive, social, and motor development. The study will consider whether provider characteristics (e.g., health and development-related knowledge) have different effects on child health and development depending on the child’s family background (e.g., mother’s schooling, social capital, and family wealth).

The study will provide valuable insight on the role of the human and physical resources of the health sector in improving child health, which will inform policies aimed at improving health service delivery in the Philippines and elsewhere.