Introduction

Launched in July 2015 in Huachi County, Gansu Province, the China Rural Education and Child Health (China REACH) program is the country’s first integrated early childhood development program targeting children in low-income rural areas. Elements of the program include nutrition and parenting interventions, randomized controlled trials and follow-up assessments. In July 2016, the CDRF conducted the first follow-up assessment of children participating in the randomized controlled trial to assess the mid-term impact of the pilot program. The assessment was organized by the CDRF and supervised by the National Survey Research Center at Renmin University of China, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Health Bureau of Huachi County. Experts from the Huachi Maternal and Child Health Center and the Shanghai Maternal and Child Health Center provided health check services and conducted early childhood development screening. College volunteers from Longdong College conducted surveys and home interviews.