title: Developmental screening in South Africa: comparing the national developmental checklist to a standardized tool.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Worldwide, more than 200 million children in low- and middle-income countries have developmental delays and/or disabilities. In South Africa the only nationally implemented developmental 'screening' tool is integrated as part of 'The Road to Health Booklet (RTHB).
  
  
  METHODS
  The study employed a comparative cross-sectional within-subject design to evaluate the accuracy of the RTHB developmental checklist against a standardized international tool i.e. the PEDS tools, consisting of the PEDS and PEDS:DM. A total of 201 participants were included through convenience sampling at primary health care facilities in Tshwane, South Africa.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sensitivity of the RTHB developmental checklist is low, but specificity is high. The RTHB developmental checklist failed to identify more than half the infants at risk of delays or disorders. The nationally implemented developmental checklist is ineffective to identify at-risk infants. It should be adapted and validated or replaced in order to improve identification of at-risk infants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
authors.forename: Jeannie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: van der Linde
authors.affiliation: Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria, South Africa ; Ear Sciences Centre, School of Surgery, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands ; Australia Ear Science Institute Australia, Subiaco, Australia.
authors.forename: De Wet
authors.initials: de W
authors.lastname: Swanepoel
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University, Tennessee, USA.
authors.forename: Frances Page
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: Glascoe
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Louw
authors.affiliation: Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria, South Africa ; Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, Ghent University, Belgium.
authors.forename: Bart
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Vinck
mesh_terms: D057189:Checklist / Q000592:standards*; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D010290:Parents; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013019:South Africa; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards
keywords: at-risk infants; developmental delays or disorders; developmental screening; early identification
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