Dissertation Research: Child Growth and Health in High Altitude Area of India

该奖项将资助一名人类学研究生，他将研究印度高海拔地区的低出生体重。据观察，在南美和美国高海拔地区出生的孩子比低海拔地区出生的孩子体重要轻得多。该项目将考察印度是否存在类似的关系，并尝试参照社会经济和其他文化因素来解释儿童健康方面的差异。研究人员将对300名孕妇进行跟踪调查，并对她们的新生儿在出生后的几段时间内进行称重和测量。此外，调查访谈将评估每位母亲的生育史、社会经济背景以及对儿童健康的知识和信念。这项研究很重要，因为了解低出生体重的原因有助于设计改善这些儿童健康的措施。像这个项目这样的比较数据将有助于检验低出生体重原因的理论。

This award will support an anthropology graduate student who will study low birth weight in a high altitude region of India. Children born at high altitudes in South America and the US have been observed to weigh significantly less than low-altitude children. This project will see if a similar relationship exists in India and try to explain variations in child health by reference to socio-economic and other cultural factors. A sample of 300 pregnant women will be followed and their newborn infants weighed and measured at several intervals after birth. In addition survey interviews will assess each mother's reproductive history, socio-economic background, and knowledge and beliefs about child health. This research is important because understanding the causes of low birth weight an be of help in the design of measures to improve the health of such children. Comparative data such as this project will be helpful in testing theories of the causes of low birth weight.