Impact of a community-based program on early childhood development.
To determine the impact of an integrated community-based program in rural villages on early childhood development, a controlled trial was conducted in the Nakhon Sawan province of Thailand. The program involved the cooperation of governmental agencies, nongovernmental agencies, academic institutions, and community organizations. At baseline, 3 control and 3 program villages were similar in terms of nutritional status, developmental performance and parental care. After 2 years of intervention in the program villages, improvements were noted in nutritional status, developmental performance, and intelligence quotient scores, as well as overall utilization of health care resources and parental attitude and involvement.
Kotchabhakdi
N J
NJ
Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Phayathai, Bangkok, Thailand.
D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002662:Child Health Services; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003153:Community Health Services; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D015397:Program Evaluation; D019035:Rural Health Services; D013785:Thailand