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Updated: Sep 21, 2025
Measuring the Functional Abilities of Children Aged 3-6 Years Old with Observational Methods and Computer Tools
Published on: June 20, 2020
Exploring the feasibility of validating early developmental screening tools for American Indian and Alaska Native
Nancy L Asdigian1, Caitlin Trucksess Howley1, Michelle Sarche1
1Tribal Early Childhood Research Center, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
Insights
Online screening tools show promise for American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) children
Area of Science:
- Child Development
- Public Health
- Health Disparities
Background:
- Early childhood screening is vital for identifying developmental challenges and ensuring timely intervention.
- Screening rates for American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) children are lower than for other populations.
- A lack of validated screening tools for AIAN children contributes to this disparity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the feasibility of using online data collection for future validity studies of screening instruments in AIAN children.
- To gather preliminary data on the experiences of AIAN parents with online data collection methods.
Main Methods:
- Recruited AIAN parents in four communities to complete online screeners and demographic information.
- Collected feedback on the ease and usability of the online data collection process.
- Offered participants the option to receive screening results through local early childhood programs.
Main Results:
- 39 out of 240 initial participants fully completed the online data collection.
- Most participants were female and identified as AIAN.
- The majority of participants found the online data collection process easy to use.
Conclusions:
- Online data collection is a potentially feasible strategy for gathering screener validation data from AIAN children.
- In-person support may be necessary to enhance participation and completion rates in future studies.
- This approach could help bridge the gap in developmental screening for AIAN children.
Abstract:
Screening children from birth through age 5 is critical to early identification of challenges and referral to intervention to support optimal development. Screening of American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) children lags behind that of other children, partly due to the lack of screening tools validated for this population. This study tested the feasibility of an online data collection strategy for use in a future study of the validity of existing screening instruments for AIAN children. Parents of AIAN children in four communities were recruited to complete screeners, provide demographic information, and provide feedback on experiences with online data collection. Participants were given the option of receiving screening results from the local early childhood program through which they were recruited. 240 participants began the process, 183 were enrolled in a partner program and reported a birthdate for at least one AIAN child, 157 had an age-eligible child, 81 began the consent process, 62 consented, and 39 fully completed data collection. Most participants were female and AIAN, the majority reported that online data collection was easy. Collecting screener validation data on a large sample of AIAN children may be able to utilize online data collection tools, with in-person support to facilitate participation.
