ArticleJournal of global health2020
Early childhood suspected developmental delay in 63 low- and middle-income countries: Large within- and between-country inequalities documented using national health surveys.
Article in Journal of global health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 69 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
69 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Prevalence and determinants of developmental delay among children in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2024Pooled it
- Early childhood development and parental training interventions in rural China: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ global health · 2021Pooled it
- Effects of a liquefied petroleum gas stove and fuel intervention and air pollution exposure on early childhood development: Findings from the household air pollution intervention network trial.Environment international · 2026Trial
- The lasting influence of parenting intervention on child behavior: findings from a randomized clinical trial using care for child development guidelines.BMC pediatrics · 2024Trial
- Understanding modifiable caregiver factors contributing to child development among young children in rural Malawi.Maternal & child nutrition · 2024Trial
- Is Early Childhood Development Care at Public Health Facilities in Pakistan Effective? A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.Global health, science and practice · 2023Trial
- Neurodevelopment, vision and auditory outcomes at age 2 years in offspring of participants in the 'Women First' maternal preconception nutrition randomised controlled trial.Archives of disease in childhood · 2023Trial
- Association of parental age with developmental vulnerability in early childhood: a population-based cohort study.Journal of epidemiology and community health · 2026Article
- Article
- Global Pathways to Thriving Children: Implementing Large-Scale Multicomponent Nutrition and Child Development Programs.The Journal of nutrition · 2026Article
- Understanding Maternal Engagement and Child Development in the Context of Perinatal Depression.Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology · 2026Article
- Perinatal Depression, Maternal Engagement and Child Social-Emotional Development: A Cohort Study.Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology · 2026Article
- Food Poverty and Early Childhood Development Across Food Insecurity Levels in Brazil.Maternal & child nutrition · 2026Article
- Exploring prevalence and key determinants of developmental difficulties among young children: a cross-sectional study in urban Bangladesh.BMC pediatrics · 2026Article
- Transitioning to a Flexible, Tiered, Developmentally Informed Same-Day Screening Model for Preschoolers in Low-Resource Settings.Child: care, health and development · 2026Observational
- Pilot Implementation of an Intervention Program to Promote Fine Motor Skills in Preschoolers: Feasibility and Acceptability.Occupational therapy international · 2026Article
- Predicting Child Development Across Literacy, Physical, Learning, and Social-Emotional Domains Using Supervised Machine Learning: A Cross-Sectional Study Based on MICS 2019 Bangladesh.Health science reports · 2025Article
- Factors Associated with Being on Track for Early Childhood Development in Kinshasa: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Determinants of child physical health development in Bangladesh: a study of key socioeconomic and cultural influences.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Relationship of parental caregiving and child labour with developmental problems and mental health in children in low-to-middle-income countries using the socioecological resilience model.BMC public health · 2025Article
9 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
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Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe Sustainable Development Goals call for inclusive, equitable and quality learning opportunities for all. This is especially important for children, to ensure they all develop to their full potential. We studied the prevalence and inequalities of suspected delay in child development in 63 low- and middle-income countries.
methodsWe used the early child development module from national health surveys, which covers four developmental domains (physical, social-emotional, learning, literacy-numeracy) and provides a combined indicator (early child development index, ECDI) of whether children are on track. We calculated the age-adjusted prevalence of suspected delay at the country level and stratifying by wealth, urban/rural residence, sex of the child and maternal education. We also calculated measures of absolute and relative inequality.
resultsWe studied 330 613 children from 63 countries. Prevalence of suspected delay for the ECDI ranged from 3% in Barbados to 67% in Chad. For all countries together, 25% of the children were suspected of developmental delay. At regional level, prevalence of delay ranged from 10% in Europe and Central Asia to 42% in West and Central Africa. The literacy-numeracy domain was by far the most challenging, with the highest proportions of delay. We observed very large inequalities, and most markedly for the literacy-numeracy domain.
conclusionsTo date, our study presents the most comprehensive analysis of child development using an instrument especially developed for national health surveys. With a quarter of the children globally suspected of developmental delay, we face an immense challenge. The multifactorial aspect of early child development and the large gaps we found only add to the challenge of not leaving these children behind.
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