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Development and validation of PediaTrac™: A web-based tool to track developing infants
Renée Lajiness-O'Neill1, Judith Brooks2, Angela Lukomski3
1Eastern Michigan University, Department of Psychology, Ypsilanti, MI, USA; University of Michigan, Center for Human Growth and Development, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Insights
PediaTrac, a tool for tracking infant development, demonstrated good reliability and validity across multiple domains. This web-based assessment shows potential for novel infant development estimation.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Development
- Psychometrics
- Infant Health Monitoring
Background:
- Infant development tracking is crucial for early identification of potential issues.
- Existing tools may lack comprehensive domain coverage or robust validation.
- PediaTrac™ is a web-based tool designed to track infant development across key domains.
Purpose of the Study:
- To validate the PediaTrac™ tool for tracking infant development.
- To assess the psychometric properties of PediaTrac™ using Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT).
- To evaluate the reliability and validity of PediaTrac™ across multiple developmental domains and age points.
Main Methods:
- PediaTrac™, a 363-item web-based tool, was validated using Expert Panel Reviews and Cognitive Interviews (CI).
- Psychometric properties were examined using CTT and IRT on pooled longitudinal and cross-sectional data (N=132).
- Data included caregiver-reported information on demographics, medical history, environment, and developmental domains.
Main Results:
- Expert Panel Reviews showed good reliability at most sampling periods, with moderate agreement at 6 months.
- Cognitive Interviews indicated moderate to excellent reliability regarding item clarity across age points.
- CTT revealed good internal consistency for Social-Emotional/Communication, Attachment, and Sensorimotor domains.
- IRT modeling demonstrated good reliability for Feeding/Eating, Social-Emotional/Communication, and Attachment domains, with demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity.
Conclusions:
- PediaTrac™ demonstrates good reliability and validity, supporting its use in tracking infant development.
- The tool shows potential for generating novel and effective estimates of infant development.
- Specific domains like Sensorimotor require further item targeting for improved measurement.
Objective:
PediaTrac™, a 363-item web-based tool to track infant development, administered in modules of ∼40-items per sampling period, newborn (NB), 2--, 4--, 6--, 9-- and 12--months was validated. Caregivers answered demographic, medical, and environmental questions, and questions covering the sensorimotor, feeding/eating, sleep, speech/language, cognition, social-emotional, and attachment domains.
Methods:
Expert Panel Reviews and Cognitive Interviews (CI) were conducted to validate the item bank. Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT) methods were employed to examine the dimensionality and psychometric properties of PediaTrac with pooled longitudinal and cross-sectional cohorts (N = 132).
Results:
Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) for the Expert Panel Review revealed moderate agreement at 6 -months and good reliability at other sampling periods. ICC estimates for CI revealed moderate reliability regarding clarity of the items at NB and 4 months, good reliability at 2--, 9-- and 12--months and excellent reliability at 6 -months. CTT revealed good coefficient alpha estimates (α ≥ 0.77 for five of the six ages) for the Social-Emotional/Communication, Attachment (α ≥ 0.89 for all ages), and Sensorimotor (α ≥ 0.75 at 6-months) domains, revealing the need for better targeting of sensorimotor items. IRT modeling revealed good reliability (r = 0.85-0.95) for three distinct domains (Feeding/Eating, Social-Emotional/Communication and Attachment) and four subdomains (Feeding Breast/Formula, Feeding Solid Food, Social-Emotional Information Processing, Communication/Cognition). Convergent and discriminant construct validity were demonstrated between our IRT-modeled domains and constructs derived from existing developmental, behavioral and caregiver measures. Our Attachment domain was significantly correlated with existing measures at the NB and 2-month periods, while the Social-Emotional/Communication domain was highly correlated with similar constructs at the 6-, 9- and 12-month periods.
Conclusion:
PediaTrac has potential for producing novel and effective estimates of infant development via the Sensorimotor, Feeding/Eating, Social-Emotional/Communication and Attachment domains.
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