scholarly journals Home Environment and Early Development of Rural Children: Evidence from Guizhou Province in China

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 6121
Author(s):  
Lena Kuhn ◽  
Chengfang Liu ◽  
Tianyi Wang ◽  
Renfu Luo
Keyword(s):  
Child Development ◽  
Early Development ◽  
Home Environment ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Infant Development ◽  
Guizhou Province ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Early Child Development ◽  
Learning Material ◽  
Early Child

Delays in early child development are among the aspects underlying the persistent developmental gaps between regions and social strata. This study seeks to examine the relationship between the home environment and early child development in less-developed rural areas by drawing on data from 445 children from villages in Guizhou province in southwest China. A demographic questionnaire, the Home Observation Measurement of the Environment (HOME), and the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, version III (BSID-III), were used to measure the child’s demographic characteristics, home environment, and early development outcomes, respectively. Our data show that the sample children suffer a delay in various dimensions of child development and a deficit in the HOME scale. The results from a hierarchical regression model suggest that the availability of learning material at home, caregivers’ responsiveness and organization sub-scales are significantly positively correlated with the early development of sample children, after controlling for general socioeconomic status, health, and nutrition, and this correlation differs by gender. These results imply that the provision of learning material to households, promoting caregivers’ responsiveness and organization in less-developed rural areas could improve early child development among deprived children.

scholarly journals The Interrelationships between Parental Migration, Home Environment, and Early Child Development in Rural China: A Cross-Sectional Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (11) ◽  
pp. 3862 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingdong Zhong ◽  
Lena Kuhn ◽  
Tianyi Wang ◽  
Chengfang Liu ◽  
Renfu Luo
Keyword(s):  
Child Development ◽  
Home Environment ◽  
Infant Development ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Mediation Effect ◽  
Early Child Development ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Early Child ◽  
Parental Migration

A growing body of literature is providing evidence of a negative association between parental migration and child development. Meanwhile, the chain of relationships between parental migration, home environment, and early child development has not yet been well documented in China. This paper investigates the interrelationships between parental migration, home environment, and early child development in an undeveloped area of western rural China. In total, 444 households were included in the study. Bayley Scales of Infant Development version III (BSID-III), Home Observation Measurement of the Environment (HOME), and a socioeconomic questionnaire, were used to measure children’s development outcomes, home environment, and socioeconomic characteristics in sample households. A mediation effect model was used to estimate the interrelationships between parental migration, home environment, and child development. The results demonstrate that home environment works as a significant mediator, through which parental migration is associated with a 0.07 standard deviation (SD), 0.13 SD, 0.12 SD, and 0.10 SD decline in the child’s cognitive, language, motor, and social-emotional scores, respectively. For future studies, the key findings suggest that interventions aimed at improving the home environments of left-behind children might be necessary in rural China.

Assessing Home Environment for Early Child Development in Pakistan

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanober Nadeem ◽  
Ghazala Rafique ◽  
Liaquat Khowaja ◽  
Anjum Yameen
Keyword(s):  
Child Development ◽  
Home Environment ◽  
Early Child Development ◽  
Early Child

Perceived Knowledge of Early Child Development Among New and Expecting Fathers

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather A. Keefe ◽  
Sharnail D. Bazemore ◽  
Kate Farr ◽  
James F. Paulson
Keyword(s):  
Child Development ◽  
Early Child Development ◽  
Perceived Knowledge ◽  
Early Child

scholarly journals A holistic approach to promoting early child development: a cluster randomised trial of a group-based, multicomponent intervention in rural Bangladesh

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. e004307
Author(s):  
Helen O Pitchik ◽  
Fahmida Tofail ◽  
Mahbubur Rahman ◽  
Fahmida Akter ◽  
Jesmin Sultana ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Child Development ◽  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
Primary Caregivers ◽  
Secondary Outcome ◽  
Early Child Development ◽  
Early Child ◽  
Rural Bangladesh ◽  
Cluster Randomised ◽  
Adjusted Means

IntroductionIn low- and middle-income countries, children experience multiple risks for delayed development. We evaluated a multicomponent, group-based early child development intervention including behavioural recommendations on responsive stimulation, nutrition, water, sanitation, hygiene, mental health and lead exposure prevention.MethodsWe conducted a 9-month, parallel, multiarm, cluster-randomised controlled trial in 31 rural villages in Kishoreganj District, Bangladesh. Villages were randomly allocated to: group sessions (‘group’); alternating groups and home visits (‘combined’); or a passive control arm. Sessions were delivered fortnightly by trained community members. The primary outcome was child stimulation (Family Care Indicators); the secondary outcome was child development (Ages and Stages Questionnaire Inventory, ASQi). Other outcomes included dietary diversity, latrine status, use of a child potty, handwashing infrastructure, caregiver mental health and knowledge of lead. Analyses were intention to treat. Data collectors were independent from implementers.ResultsIn July–August 2017, 621 pregnant women and primary caregivers of children<15 months were enrolled (group n=160, combined n=160, control n=301). At endline, immediately following intervention completion (July–August 2018), 574 participants were assessed (group n=144, combined n=149, control n=281). Primary caregivers in both intervention arms participated in more play activities than control caregivers (age-adjusted means: group 4.22, 95% CI 3.97 to 4.47; combined 4.77, 4.60 to 4.96; control 3.24, 3.05 to 3.39), and provided a larger variety of play materials (age-adjusted means: group 3.63, 3.31 to 3.96; combined 3.81, 3.62 to 3.99; control 2.48, 2.34 to 2.59). Compared with the control arm, children in the group arm had higher total ASQi scores (adjusted mean difference in standardised scores: 0.39, 0.15 to 0.64), while in the combined arm scores were not significantly different from the control (0.25, –0.07 to 0.54).ConclusionOur findings suggest that group-based, multicomponent interventions can be effective at improving child development outcomes in rural Bangladesh, and that they have the potential to be delivered at scale.Trial registration numberThe trial is registered in ISRCTN (ISRCTN16001234).

scholarly journals Nutritional Status of Children 24–60 Months Attending Early Child Development Centres in a Semi-Rural Community in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 261
Author(s):  
Onwaba Makanjana ◽  
Ashika Naicker
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Child Development ◽  
Nutritional Status ◽  
Energy Intake ◽  
Vegetable Consumption ◽  
Childhood Development ◽  
Early Child Development ◽  
Serum Retinol ◽  
Early Child ◽  
Nutritional Status Of Children

Despite the numerous efforts to improve the nutritional status of children, a high prevalence of malnutrition still exists in South Africa. This study aimed to determine the nutritional status of children attending Early Child Development centres in South Africa. In this baseline study, we randomly selected two Early Child Development centres comprising 116 children aged 24–60 months, separated into two cohorts, of 24–47 months and 48–60 months. Dietary intake was measured through the 24 hDR and analysed using Food Finder software. The food frequency questionnaire was used to calculate the food variety and food group diversity scores. Anthropometric measurements were taken and the WHO Anthro software was used to convert it to nutritional data indices. Blood samples were collected through dried blood spot cards in order to determine serum retinol and haemoglobin levels and they were assessed using WHO indicators. The findings showed that participants between 24 and 47 months had a high mean energy intake (4906.2 kJ and 4997.9 kJ for girls and boys, respectively). For the 48–60 months age group, energy intake was lower than the EER (5936.4 kJ and 5621.2 kJ; p = 0.038). There was low fruit and vegetable consumption (24–47 months; 63.8 g and 69.5 g (p = 0.037), 48–60 months; 68.3 g and 74.4 g (p = 0.038) and the top five foods consumed were carbohydrate rich foods for girls and boys, respectively. Stunting was noted in 7% and 20% (48–60 months) (p = 0.012) and overweight in 8% and 17% (24–47 months) and 17% and 13% (48–60 months) (p = 0.041) in girls and boys, respectively. Low serum retinol levels (<0.070 µmol/L) were found in 9.1% of boys (24–47 months), and 8% and 7.4% of girls and boys (48–60 months), respectively. Low haemoglobin levels (<11.0 g/dL) were found in 50.0% and 30.4% (24–47 months) and 8.6% and 39.3% (48–60 months) of girls and boys, respectively. Malnutrition, despite many national and provincial initiatives, still exists in Early Childhood Development centres in South Africa, calling for the application of contextualized nutrition interventions to suit resource-poor settings.

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