. 2020 Nov 23;10(11):e038182.

doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-038182.

Screening tools for early identification of children with developmental delay in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review

Tasnuva Faruk^{1

2}, Catherine King³, Mohammad Muhit^{4

5}, Md Kafiul Islam⁶, Israt Jahan^{4

5

7}, Kamran Ul Baset^{2

8}, Nadia Badawi^{9

10}, Gulam Khandaker^{4

5

10

11}

Affiliations

¹ Asian Institute of Disability and Development, University of South Asia, Dhaka, Bangladesh meghbalika04@gmail.com.
² Department of Public Health, Independent University Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
³ The Children's Hospital at Westmead Clinical School, The Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁴ Asian Institute of Disability and Development, University of South Asia, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
⁵ CSF Global, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
⁶ Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Independent University Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
⁷ School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia.
⁸ Road Safety and Driving School, BRAC, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
⁹ Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
¹⁰ Discipline of Child and Adolescent Health, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
¹¹ Public Health Unit, Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia.

PMID: 33234622
PMCID: PMC7684835
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-038182

Screening tools for early identification of children with developmental delay in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review

Tasnuva Faruk et al. BMJ Open. 2020.

. 2020 Nov 23;10(11):e038182.

doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-038182.

Authors

Tasnuva Faruk^{1

2}, Catherine King³, Mohammad Muhit^{4

5}, Md Kafiul Islam⁶, Israt Jahan^{4

5

7}, Kamran Ul Baset^{2

8}, Nadia Badawi^{9

10}, Gulam Khandaker^{4

5

10

11}

Affiliations

¹ Asian Institute of Disability and Development, University of South Asia, Dhaka, Bangladesh meghbalika04@gmail.com.
² Department of Public Health, Independent University Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
³ The Children's Hospital at Westmead Clinical School, The Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁴ Asian Institute of Disability and Development, University of South Asia, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
⁵ CSF Global, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
⁶ Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Independent University Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
⁷ School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia.
⁸ Road Safety and Driving School, BRAC, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
⁹ Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
¹⁰ Discipline of Child and Adolescent Health, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
¹¹ Public Health Unit, Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia.

PMID: 33234622
PMCID: PMC7684835
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-038182

Erratum in

Correction: Screening tools for early identification of children with developmental delay in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.
[No authors listed] [No authors listed] BMJ Open. 2021 Nov 16;11(11):e038182corr1. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-038182corr1. BMJ Open. 2021. PMID: 34785562 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

Abstract

Objective: To systematically review, identify and report the screening tools used for early identification of developmental delay in low- and middle-income countries.

Design: Systematic review.

Data sources: Four bibliographic databases: Medline (1946 to 13 July 2020), Embase (1974 to 13 July 2020), Scopus (1823 to 11 July 2020) and PsycINFO (1987 to July week 1 2020).

Eligibility criteria: Peer-reviewed original articles published in English addressing validated culturally sensitive developmental screening tools among children aged <5 years were included in this review.

Data extraction and synthesis: One author (CK, medical librarian) developed the search strategy. Three authors conducted the database search (phase I: CK; phase II: IJ and MKI). Three authors (TF, IJ and MKI) independently screened the title and abstracts. TF, MKI and GK independently performed the full-text review of the screened articles. During each step of the study selection process, disagreements were resolved through discussion. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement was used to guide the systematic review. Data extraction and analysis were performed using MS Excel. Meta-analysis was not possible due to heterogeneity of the study findings.

Results: We identified 3349 articles, of which 18 studies from 10 countries, reporting 16 screening tools, were selected for qualitative synthesis. Six cultural contexts were explored. Twelve general, two motor and two speech-language tools were identified. Seven of them found to be parent-completed ones. Five screening tools (American Speech-Language and Hearing Association, Guide for Monitoring Child Development, Infant Neurological International Battery, New Delhi-Development Screening Questionnaire and Woodside Screening Technique) reported relatively higher sensitivity (82.5%-100%) and specificity (83%-98.93%).

Conclusions: Limited number of culturally sensitive developmental screening tools were validated for children aged <5 years in low- and middle-income countries. Revising existing screening tools in different ethnic and cultural settings and subsequent validation with normative value should be a research priority.

Keywords: community child health; developmental neurology & neurodisability; neonatal intensive & critical care; neurological injury; paediatric neurology; public health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

**Figure 1**
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses flow diagram. LMIC, low- and middle-income countries.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

1. University of Michigan . Developmental delay [online], 2010. Available: http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/devdel.htm [Accessed 5 Jul 2018].
1. WHO . International classification of functioning, disability and health. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2001. - PubMed
1. Fernald L, Kariger P, Engle P, et al. . Examining early child development in low-income countries: a toolkit for the assessment of children in the first five years of life [online]. The World Bank, 2009. Available: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/28107/NonAsci... [Accessed 1 Jan 2019].
1. Walker SP, Wachs TD, Gardner JM, et al. . Child development: risk factors for adverse outcomes in developing countries. Lancet 2007;369:145–57. 10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60076-2 - DOI - PubMed
1. WHO . Early childhood development and disability: a discussion paper [online], 2012. Available: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/75355/9789241504065_eng... [Accessed 13 Feb 2019].

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Screening tools for early identification of children with developmental delay in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review

Affiliations

Screening tools for early identification of children with developmental delay in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review

Authors

Affiliations

Erratum in

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

Publication types

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LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Research Materials

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