Early childhood development scores among 24-59 months children attending RCH clinics in Temeke municipal Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
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Date
2024
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kairuki University
Abstract
Background: Early childhood development is an important public health problem
in Child Health in low- and middle-income countries with approximately 43% of
children living in these countries at risk of developmental delay. In Tanzania, at the
district level, early childhood development status in children between 24 -59 months
is unknown.
Objective: The broad objective of this study was to determine the early childhood
development scores among children aged 24-59 months attending Reproductive and
Child Health clinics in Temeke Municipal, Dar-es-Salaam Region Tanzania.
Methodology: For three months, from November 2023 to January 2024, children
aged 24 to 59 months who attended Reproductive and Child Health clinics in
Temeke Municipal, Dar es Salaam Region, participated in the study using a facility
based analytical cross-sectional study design. Four hundred and twenty-two children
from four health facilities were enrolled. ECD scores among participants were
determined using the UNICEF tool (ECDI2030). Data were analyzed using IBM
Corp.'s SPSS version 20.0, New York, USA. Frequency and percentages were used
to express the magnitude of children on track for early childhood development.
Binary logistic regression was employed to evaluate the factors linked with poor
Early Childhood Development (ECD). A p-value of 0.05 or less was considered to be
statistically significant.
Results: A total of 422 children enrolled into the study were in the final data
analysis. Among these only 144 (34.1%) were on track based on their early
development scores. The child's early age (AOR 0.149 (0.63-0.354 and p-value =
0.001), malnutrition (AOR 7.729 (2.234-26.735 and p-value = 0.010), and the
parents' occupation (AOR 3.730 (1.937-7.184 and p-value = 0.001) were factors
linked to sub-optimal performance of ECD using ECDI2030.
Conclusions: Most of the study participants were off-track in their ECD scores,
which potentially might be a barrier to their full development. Young age,
malnutrition, and unemployment among parents were significant factors associated
with ECD delays.
Recommendations:
1. Parents should ensure a responsive relationship with their young children by
spending time with them, engaging in face-to-face interactions, and having positive
physical contact which helps in bonding and attachment. Provide access to simple
toys, and household items that encourage exploration and learning. Promote
regular talking, reading, and singing to infants and toddlers. It helps to build
vocabulary and communication skills.
2. Appropriate feeding of every child including promotion of breastfeeding
exclusively during the first 6 months of life should be emphasized as breastmilk
provides
nutrients
needed to strengthen immunity. Supplementation of
micronutrients and macronutrients during complementary feeding and fortified food
provides essential nutrients. These interventions may improve the nutrition status of
young children with subsequent improvement in ECD.
3. Unemployed parents should engage in support groups or community programs
that provide support and resources. Parents who receive vocational training gain
skills that improve the family's financial status.
Description
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Medicine in Paediatrics and child health.
Keywords
Early Childhood, Health health, MEDICINE::Surgery::Obstetrics and women's diseases::Reproductive health
Citation
Mshimba, M.A., 2024. Early childhood development scores among 24-59 months children attending RCH clinics in Temeke municipal Dar es salaam, Tanzania. Kairuki University