Screening for developmental delay among children attending a rural community welfare clinic in Ghana

Abstract

BackgroundPeriodic screening for developmental delays (DD) could avert the incidence of disability among children. However, such routine programme is yet to take off in rural welfare clinics in Ghana.MethodMothers of under-5 children who were attending rural child welfare clinic participated in this study. The socio-demographic data of the mothers and their children were recorded. The children were screened to assess their gross motor skills, fine motor skills, communication skills, problem solving/cognition and social/personal interaction using Ages and Stages Questionnaire. Score below the threshold points on a developmental domain defines DD for a child. Data analysis involved percentages and frequency while Chi-square was performed to determine the associations between the selected socio-demographic risk factors and DD. Alpha value was set at p < 0.05.ResultsThree hundren and thirty (330) children were screened and majority 60(18%), were found within the age range 3 months 1 day to 5 months 0 day. 251(76%) had normal weight (2.5 kg-3.5) while 26(7.6%) were underweight (<2.5 kg). Generally, 147(44.6%) of the children had DD in the different domains of the questionnaires. 41(12.4%) had DD in social/personal interaction while 19(5.8%) were delayed in the communication domain. Birth weight and duration of gestation were significantly associated with communication domain while the level of education of the mothers and duration of gestation were significantly associated with gross motor domain.ConclusionAn appreciable proportion of the children were found to experience developmental delays and the most prevalent occurence was in personal/social interaction. Birth weight, gestational age and maternal educational level provide insight into a link with communication and gross motor skills.

Comparative use of the Ages and Stages Questionnaires in low‐ and middle‐income countries

“…factor analysis, item analysis, etc.) . Two studies reported on the ASQ's relation to other measures via correlations with a criterion measure .…”

“…factor analysis, item analysis, etc.). 33,[46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58] Two studies reported on the ASQ's relation to other measures via correlations with a criterion measure. 49,50 Finally, six studies reported on the consequences of ASQ use.…”

A review of screening tools for the identification of autism spectrum disorders and developmental delay in infants and young children: recommendations for use in low‐ and middle‐income countries

“…The initial search results generated a large volume of studies and reviews related to developmental screening processes and instruments. Search results yielded guidelines and recommendations for the use of screening tools to identify children with DD or ASD (e.g., American Academy of Pediatrics, 2006;Charman & Gotham, 2013;King et al, 2010) and reports of screening tools used in different populations (e.g., Barton et al, 2012;Bello, Quartey, & Appiah, 2013;Grossman et al, 2010;Perera, Wijewardena, & Aluthwelage, 2009). The search results included a large number of studies that described tool development and validation (e.g., Allen, Silove, Williams, & Hutchins, 2007;Bhave, Bhargava, & Kumar, 2010;Durkin et al, 1994Durkin et al, , 1995 or adaptation of screening tools (e.g., Gladstone et al, 2008;Kakooza-Mwesige et al, 2014;Soto et al, 2015), as well as comparisons between screening tools (e.g., Mayes et al, 2009;Murray, Mayes, & Smith, 2011;Snow & Lecavalier, 2008).…”

Prevalence and risk factors of gross motor delay in pre‐schoolers

“…Factors associated with gross motor delay among typically developing children aged 0-5 years include in part, child characteristics (e.g. low birthweight 11 and prematurity 11,15,16 ) and family characteristics (e.g. low parental education 11,16 and low familial socio-economic status 11,12 ).…”

“…low birthweight 11 and prematurity 11,15,16 ) and family characteristics (e.g. low parental education 11,16 and low familial socio-economic status 11,12 ). One of the publications resulting from the Australian Early Development Census data examined socio-demographic factors associated with the physical health and wellbeing domain in the Northern Territory.…”