scholarly journals Child development assessment tools in low-income and middle-income countries: how can we use them more appropriately?

2015 ◽  
Vol 100 (5) ◽  
pp. 482-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saraswathy Sabanathan ◽  
Bridget Wills ◽  
Melissa Gladstone
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Capital Investment ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Child Survival ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Policy Interpretation

Global emphasis has shifted beyond reducing child survival rates to improving health and developmental trajectories in childhood. Optimum early childhood experience is believed to allow children to benefit fully from educational opportunities resulting in improved human capital. Investment in early childhood initiatives in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) is increasing. These initiatives use early childhood developmental assessment tools (CDATs) as outcome measures. CDATs are also key measures in the evaluation of programmatic health initiatives in LMICs, influencing public health policy. Interpretation of CDAT outcomes requires understanding of their structure and psychometric properties. This article reviews the structure and main methods of CDAT development with specific considerations when applied in LMICs.

scholarly journals Assessing Feasibility of an Early Childhood Intervention Using Mobile Phones Among Low-Income Mothers of Newborns: Qualitative Interview Study (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donglan Zhang ◽  
Lan Jin ◽  
Di Liang ◽  
Ruijin Geng ◽  
Yun Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Interview Study ◽  
Early Childhood Intervention ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Childhood Intervention ◽  
Low Income Mothers

BACKGROUND Many children aged younger than 5 years living in low- and middle-income countries are at risk for poor development. Early child development (ECD) programs are cost-effective strategies to reduce poverty, crime, school dropouts, and socioeconomic inequality. With the spread of low-cost mobile phones and internet access in low- and middle-income countries, new service delivery models such as mobile phone–aided interventions have a great potential to improve early childhood development. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to identify the beliefs on importance of ECD, feasibility of a proposed intervention using mobile phones and factors that may affect the usability of the intervention among mothers of newborns in a poverty-stricken area in southwestern China. METHODS We conducted an in-depth, semistructured interview study of 25 low-income mothers of newborns recruited from two county hospitals in Yunnan Province. We applied the health belief model and cultural competence theories to identify the facilitators, barriers, and preferences among the target population for parenting knowledge. RESULTS The results showed that the participants had low health literacy and high perceived needs for learning ECD knowledge. At the same time, they experienced several barriers to learning parenting information and following evidence-based instructions including having limited time, limited financial resources, and different opinions on childcare among family members. Many participants preferred to receive personalized messages tailored to their specific needs and preferred videos or graphics to text only in the messages. Many favored a separate module to support postpartum mental health. CONCLUSIONS The study assessed the acceptability of an early childhood intervention using mobile phones to meet the needs of the target population based on their beliefs, traits, and preferences and provided suggestions to refine the intervention to improve its usability.

scholarly journals Assessing Feasibility of an Early Childhood Intervention Using Mobile Phones Among Low-Income Mothers of Newborns: Qualitative Interview Study

10.2196/17179 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. e17179
Author(s):  
Donglan Zhang ◽  
Lan Jin ◽  
Di Liang ◽  
Ruijin Geng ◽  
Yun Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Interview Study ◽  
Early Childhood Intervention ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Childhood Intervention ◽  
Low Income Mothers

Background Many children aged younger than 5 years living in low- and middle-income countries are at risk for poor development. Early child development (ECD) programs are cost-effective strategies to reduce poverty, crime, school dropouts, and socioeconomic inequality. With the spread of low-cost mobile phones and internet access in low- and middle-income countries, new service delivery models such as mobile phone–aided interventions have a great potential to improve early childhood development. Objective This study aimed to identify the beliefs on importance of ECD, feasibility of a proposed intervention using mobile phones and factors that may affect the usability of the intervention among mothers of newborns in a poverty-stricken area in southwestern China. Methods We conducted an in-depth, semistructured interview study of 25 low-income mothers of newborns recruited from two county hospitals in Yunnan Province. We applied the health belief model and cultural competence theories to identify the facilitators, barriers, and preferences among the target population for parenting knowledge. Results The results showed that the participants had low health literacy and high perceived needs for learning ECD knowledge. At the same time, they experienced several barriers to learning parenting information and following evidence-based instructions including having limited time, limited financial resources, and different opinions on childcare among family members. Many participants preferred to receive personalized messages tailored to their specific needs and preferred videos or graphics to text only in the messages. Many favored a separate module to support postpartum mental health. Conclusions The study assessed the acceptability of an early childhood intervention using mobile phones to meet the needs of the target population based on their beliefs, traits, and preferences and provided suggestions to refine the intervention to improve its usability.

scholarly journals The effect of paid maternity leave on early childhood growth in low-income and middle-income countries

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. e000294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deepa Jahagirdar ◽  
Sam Harper ◽  
Jody Heymann ◽  
Hema Swaminathan ◽  
Arnab Mukherji ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Maternity Leave ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Childhood Growth ◽  
Middle Income Countries

scholarly journals Methodological issues in economic evaluations of emergency transport systems in low-income and middle-income countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. e004723
Author(s):  
Richard Lilford ◽  
Dmitri Nepogodiev ◽  
Peter J Chilton ◽  
Samuel I Watson ◽  
Darius Erlangga ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Transport Systems ◽  
Economic Evaluations ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Emergency Transport ◽  
Basic Parameters ◽  
Injured Patients

A recent systematic review identified few papers on the economic evaluation of systems for emergency transport of acutely ill or injured patients. In addition, we found no articles dealing with the methodological challenges posed by such studies in low-income or middle-income countries. We therefore carried out an analysis of issues that are of particular salience to this important topic. This is an intellectual study in which we develop models, identify their limitations, suggest potential extensions to the models and discuss priorities for empirical studies to populate models. First, we develop a general model to calculate changes in survival contingent on the reduced time to treatment that an emergency transport system is designed to achieve. Second, we develop a model to estimate transfer times over an area that will be served by a proposed transfer system. Third, we discuss difficulties in obtaining parameters with which to populate the models. Fourth, we discuss costs, both direct and indirect, of an emergency transfer service. Fifth, we discuss the issue that outcomes other than survival should be considered and that the effects of a service are a weighted sum over all the conditions and severities for which the service caters. Lastly, based on the above work, we identify priorities for research. To our knowledge, this is the first study to identify and frame issues in the health economics of acute transfer systems and to develop models to calculate survival rates from basic parameters, such as time delay/survival relationships, that vary by intervention type and context.

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