Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 17, 2026
Assessment of the Efficacy of An Osteopathic Treatment in Infants with Biomechanical Impairments to Suckling
Published on: February 5, 2019
Feasibility of integrating early stimulation into primary care for undernourished Jamaican children: cluster
Christine Powell1, Helen Baker-Henningham, Susan Walker
1Epidemiology Research Unit, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston, Jamaica. christine.powell@uwimona.edu.jm
Insights
Integrating early psychosocial stimulation into primary care effectively improved child development and parenting skills for undernourished children. This intervention demonstrated feasibility and positive outcomes in Jamaican clinics.
Area of Science:
- Child Development
- Public Health Interventions
- Primary Care Integration
Background:
- Undernourished children often face developmental challenges.
- Early psychosocial stimulation is crucial for cognitive and social development.
- Primary care settings offer opportunities to reach vulnerable populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the feasibility of integrating early psychosocial stimulation into primary care for undernourished children.
- To assess the impact of this intervention on children's developmental outcomes.
- To determine the effect on mothers' knowledge and practices of childrearing.
Main Methods:
- Cluster randomized controlled trial conducted in 18 primary care clinics across three Jamaican parishes.
- 139 undernourished children (9-30 months) and their mothers participated.
- Intervention involved weekly home visits by community health aides providing parenting education and play demonstrations.
Main Results:
- Significant improvements observed in children's overall developmental quotient, hearing and speech, hand-eye coordination, and performance subscales.
- Mothers in the intervention group demonstrated enhanced knowledge and childrearing practices.
- Improvements in children's body mass index and height were independent predictors of developmental gains.
Conclusions:
- Integrating early psychosocial stimulation and parenting skills into primary care is feasible.
- The intervention effectively improved developmental outcomes in undernourished children.
- The program positively impacted mothers' childrearing knowledge and practices, highlighting its value in public health.
Objectives:
To assess the feasibility of integrating early psychosocial stimulation into primary care for undernourished children and to determine the effect on children's development and mothers' knowledge and practices of childrearing.
Design:
Cluster randomised controlled trial.
Setting:
18 clinics in three Jamaican parishes.
Participants:
139 undernourished children aged 9 to 30 months and their mothers enrolled in intervention or control clinics.
Interventions:
Weekly home visits by community health aides for one year in addition to usual duties. Parenting issues were discussed with the mothers and play activities were demonstrated with the children using homemade materials.
Main Outcome Measures:
Children's scores on the Griffiths mental development scales and mothers' knowledge and practices of childrearing measured by questionnaires.
Results:
Children from the intervention group showed significant improvements in development: developmental quotient, 7.8 points (95% confidence interval 4.5 to 11.1); hearing and speech, 10.7 (5.9 to 15.4 points); hand and eye coordination, 6.8 (3.4 to 10.1 points); and performance subscale, 11.0 (5.6 to 16.4 points). No improvements were shown on the locomotor subscale. The mothers from the intervention group showed improved knowledge and practices of childrearing. Change in children's body mass index and height independently affected change in development.
Conclusion:
Integrating parenting skills and early psychosocial stimulation for undernourished children into primary care was feasible and effective in improving the children's development and mothers' knowledge and practices of childrearing.
