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The Utility of Developmental Checklists in Parent-held Health Records in Singapore
Hwan Cui Koh1, Sandy Kai Ting Ang, Janell Kwok
1Department of Child Development, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore, Singapore.
Insights
Parents find developmental checklists helpful, but completion and usage rates are low. Enhancing checklists and raising awareness are crucial for effective child development monitoring.
Area of Science:
- Child Development
- Pediatric Health Monitoring
- Parental Perception Studies
Background:
- Child development monitoring is essential for early identification of developmental delays.
- The Singapore health booklet includes developmental checklists and a monitoring schedule.
- Understanding parental engagement with these tools is key to improving developmental surveillance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate parents' perceptions of developmental checklists and the child development monitoring schedule.
- To assess the utilization and perceived usefulness of these tools by parents in Singapore.
Main Methods:
- A structured interview was conducted with 450 parents of children aged 2.5 to 3.9 years.
- Parents' child health booklets were reviewed as part of the study.
Main Results:
- Most parents reported reading and using the developmental checklists, but few completed them with professional assistance.
- Parents of children with developmental concerns found the checklists useful for identification.
- Despite positive feedback, low attendance at developmental monitoring visits and checklist completion rates were observed.
Conclusions:
- Revisions such as simplifying language and adding visuals can improve checklist usability.
- Standardization for screening and increased parental awareness of developmental milestones are recommended.
- Mandatory developmental screening and an electronic health booklet could enhance implementation.
Objective:
The aim of this study was to investigate parents' perceptions of developmental checklists and the child development monitoring schedule in the Singapore health booklet.
Method:
Parents of children aged 2 years 6 months to 3 years 11 months with or without developmental concerns (n = 450) completed a structured interview, and their child's health booklets were reviewed.
Results:
Most parents reported reading and using the developmental checklists. However, only about half of them attempted the checklists with minimal help from professionals. Approximately 7 in 10 parents of children with developmental concerns found the checklists useful for identifying concerns about their child. Despite positive feedback from parents about the checklists, only about 1 in 4 parents brought their child for a 2 to 3 years developmental monitoring visit at the time of the survey, and the completion rates of the checklists were less than desirable.
Conclusions:
Further revisions to the checklists can include simplifying the words and sentences and providing relevant pictures to aid understanding. If the checklists are to be used for screening, standardization of how the checklists are to be completed and how children at risk of developmental delays can be identified on the checklists need to be provided. Parents' awareness of the importance of evaluating their child's development at 9 months, 18 months, and particularly at 2.5 years, needs to be raised. Developmental screening for children at these critical ages can be made mandatory. An electronic version of the health booklet is likely to facilitate implementation of developmental screening in the health care system.
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