title: Child development assessment tools in low-income and middle-income countries: how can we use them more appropriately?
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme, Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam Nuffield Department of Medicine, Centre for Tropical Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Saraswathy
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sabanathan
authors.affiliation: Oxford University Clinical Research Unit, Wellcome Trust Major Overseas Programme, Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam Nuffield Department of Medicine, Centre for Tropical Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Bridget
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wills
authors.affiliation: Department of Women and Children's Health, Institute of Translational Medicine, University of Liverpool, Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK.
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gladstone
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D002669:Child Welfare; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003906:Developing Countries; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods; D011203:Poverty; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: Neurodevelopment; Neurodisability; Outcomes research
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