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Monitoring psychomotor development in a resource-limited setting: an evaluation of the Kilifi Developmental Inventory
A Abubakar1, P Holding, A van Baar
1Centre for Geographic Medicine Research (Coast), KEMRI, Kilifi, Kenya. a.abubakarali@uvt.nl
Insights
The Kilifi Developmental Inventory accurately assesses psychomotor development in young Kenyan children. This culturally appropriate tool is reliable for monitoring at-risk children in resource-limited settings.
Area of Science:
- Child Development
- Psychometrics
- Global Health
Background:
- The Kilifi Developmental Checklist was modified to create the Kilifi Developmental Inventory (KDI).
- The KDI assesses psychomotor functioning in children aged 6-35 months.
- This measure is designed for use in resource-limited settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the psychometric characteristics of the Kilifi Developmental Inventory.
- To evaluate the KDI's suitability for assessing child development in Kenya.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study was conducted with 319 rural and 104 urban children.
- Nine children with neurodevelopmental disorders were included.
- Psychometric properties including reliability and validity were assessed.
Main Results:
- The KDI demonstrated excellent internal consistency, interobserver agreement, and test-retest reliability.
- The inventory showed sensitivity to maturational changes and accurately identified children with neurodevelopmental impairment or underweight status.
- Mothers found the assessment procedures acceptable and informative.
Conclusions:
- The Kilifi Developmental Inventory is a culturally appropriate and reliable measure for assessing psychomotor development.
- The KDI is suitable for monitoring and describing the development of at-risk children in resource-limited Kenyan settings.
Background:
Modifications made to the Kilifi Developmental Checklist and the psychometric characteristics of the new measure (The Kilifi Developmental Inventory) which assess the psychomotor functioning of children aged 6-35 months are described.
Methods:
Two groups of community children (319 rural and 104 urban dwellers) and nine children with neurodevelopmental disorders were recruited for a cross-sectional study.
Results:
In both a rural and urban reference population, the inventory showed excellent internal consistency, interobserver agreement, test-retest reliability and sensitivity to maturational changes. Children with neurodevelopmental impairment and those who were underweight had significantly lower scores than the community sample, attesting to the sensitivity of the measure. Mothers found the assessment procedures acceptable and informative.
Conclusions:
The Kilifi Developmental Inventory is a culturally appropriate measure that can be used to monitor and describe the development of at-risk children in resource-limited settings in Kenya.
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