Early Childhood Development Programs in Low Middle-Income Countries for Rearing Healthy Children: A Systematic Review
Published: January 1, 2020 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2020/42134.13445
Mahalaqua Nazli Khatib, Abhay Gaidhane, Mahjabeen Ahmed, Deepak Saxena, Zahiruddin Quazi Syed
1. Head, Division of Evidence Synthesis; Global Evidence Synthesis Initiative, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Wardha, Maharashtra, India.
2. Professor and Head, Department of Community Medicine, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Wardha, Maharashtra, India.
3. Research Associate, Division of Evidence Synthesis; Global Evidence Synthesis Initiative, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Wardha, Maharashtra, India.
4. Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Indian Institute of Public Health, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India; Adjunct Faculty of Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences,
Sawangi Meghe; Wardha, Maharashtra, India.
5. Director R&D, Department of R&D; Division of Evidence Synthesis; Global Evidence Synthesis Initiative, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Wardha, Maharashtra, India.
Correspondence
Dr. Zahiruddin Quazi Syed,
Research House; Sawangi (Meghe), Wardha, Maharashtra, India.
E-mail: zahirquazi@gmail.com
Introduction: Early Childhood Development (ECD) includes physical, social, emotional, cognitive and motor development in first eight years of life. Positive parenting, strong families, and encouraging, stimulating environments are critical to a child's early development.
Aim: To assess the efficacy of stimulation programs for improving ECD in Low and Middle-income Countries (LMICs).
Materials and Methods: Observational and randomised controlled trials that examined the efficacy of different programs for improving ECD in LMICs were included. Studies were identified through systematic searches of bibliographic databases in July 2018 and were further updated in February 2019. The findings of the included studies were narratively described.
Results: The evidences in hand indicate that early stimulation interventions can avert early inequalities and encourage cognitive and socio-emotional development in young children and can also improve maternal outcomes. These effects tend to sustain over a long term. More research is also required to identify the comparative effectiveness of different modes of delivery and cost-benefit of early stimulation interventions.
Conclusion: Current evidences advocate that interventions for improving ECD can help in preventing the loss of development in disadvantaged children and those amendments can ensue quickly. The health sector can play a crucial role as it has the potential to reach families, and can provide efficient interventions for optimum child development.
[
FULL TEXT ] | [ PDF]