IMPLEMENTATION OF A DEMOGRAPHIC AND CONTRACEPTIVE SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMIN 4 COUNTIES IN NORTH CHINA

This paper details efforts to implement a demographic and contraceptiv e surveillance system in four counties in North China. These counties are taking part in a large-scale field experiment involving the introd uction of new contraceptives, greater choice in the use of contracepti ves, and better training of family planning personnel. To evaluate the impact of these changes, a system of detailed, individual-level recor ds are being kept in the 24 townships taking part in the project. We d iscuss the interaction between data collection and policy implementati on - its general forms, its manifestations in modern China, and its re levance for the current project. We describe the system that we are im plementing - what the old system looked like, and how we have tried to improve it, We evaluate the system's functioning over three years, ba sed on field observations and preliminary data from one of the project 's four counties. We conclude that there has been progress in the time ly accumulation of standardized data; but there remains an antinomy wh ereby, past a point, an emphasis on data quality has the effect of sen sitizing those responsible for recording data to the problematic natur e of such data, thereby weakening accuracy. Many of the issues encount ered in implementing the new system are relevant to the larger issues of(a) correct interpretation of data from China, and (b) creating a re asonable climate for change in the family planning system.