abstract: 'Background: The provision of affordable and reliable daycare services is

  a potentially important policy lever for empowering Indian women. Access

  to daycare might reduce barriers to labor force entry and generate

  economic opportunities for women, improve education for girls caring for

  younger siblings, and promote nutrition and learning among children.

  However, empirical evidence concerning the effects of daycare programs

  in low-and-middle-income countries is scarce. This cluster-randomized

  trial will estimate the effect of a community-based daycare program on

  health and economic well-being over the life-course among women and

  children living in rural Rajasthan, India.

  Methods: This three-year study takes place in rural communities from

  five blocks in the Udaipur District of rural Rajasthan. The intervention

  is the introduction of a full-time, affordable, community-based daycare

  program. At baseline, 3177 mothers with age eligible children living in

  160 village hamlets were surveyed. After the baseline, these hamlets

  were randomized to the intervention or control groups and respondents

  will be interviewed on two more occasions. Primary social and economic

  outcomes include women''s economic status and economic opportunity,

  women''s empowerment, and children''s educational attainment. Primary

  health outcomes include women''s mental health, as well as children''s

  nutritional status.

  Discussion: This interdisciplinary research initiative will provide

  rigorous evidence concerning the effects of daycare in lower-income

  settings. In doing so it will address an important research gap and has

  the potential to inform policies for improving the daycare system in

  India in ways that promote health and economic well-being.'
affiliation: 'Nandi, A (Corresponding Author), McGill Univ, Inst Hlth \& Social Policy,
  1130 Pine Ave West, Montreal, PQ H3A 1A3, Canada.

  Nandi, A (Corresponding Author), McGill Univ, Dept Epidemiol Biostat \& Occupat
  Hlth, 1130 Pine Ave West, Montreal, PQ H3A 1A3, Canada.

  Nandi, Arijit; Harper, Sam, McGill Univ, Inst Hlth \& Social Policy, 1130 Pine Ave
  West, Montreal, PQ H3A 1A3, Canada.

  Nandi, Arijit; Harper, Sam, McGill Univ, Dept Epidemiol Biostat \& Occupat Hlth,
  1130 Pine Ave West, Montreal, PQ H3A 1A3, Canada.

  Maloney, Shannon; Agarwal, Parul; Chandrashekar, Anoushaka, IFMR LEAD, Madras, Tamil
  Nadu, India.'
article-number: '490'
author: Nandi, Arijit and Maloney, Shannon and Agarwal, Parul and Chandrashekar, Anoushaka
  and Harper, Sam
author-email: arijit.nandi@mcgill.ca
author_list:
- family: Nandi
  given: Arijit
- family: Maloney
  given: Shannon
- family: Agarwal
  given: Parul
- family: Chandrashekar
  given: Anoushaka
- family: Harper
  given: Sam
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1186/s12889-016-3176-9
eissn: 1471-2458
files: []
journal: BMC PUBLIC HEALTH
keywords: 'Child day care centers; Childcare; Nurseries; Women''s empowerment;

  Socioeconomic status; Health; Cluster randomized controlled trial; India'
keywords-plus: CHILD-CARE; ILLNESS; LENGTH; WOMEN; WORK
language: English
month: JUN 9
number-of-cited-references: '36'
orcid-numbers: 'Harper, Sam/0000-0002-2767-1053

  '
papis_id: 8916407e454b5b1c4535c83a74eed3c0
ref: Nandi2016effectaffordable
researcherid-numbers: 'Harper, Sam/A-3406-2008

  Maloney, Shannon/AAE-2390-2019'
times-cited: '10'
title: 'The effect of an affordable daycare program on health and economic well-being
  in Rajasthan, India: protocol for a cluster-randomized impact evaluation study'
type: article
unique-id: WOS:000377331000001
usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
usage-count-since-2013: '29'
volume: '16'
web-of-science-categories: Public, Environmental \& Occupational Health
year: '2016'