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Supporting cognitive catch-up: The effects of cluster-randomized psychosocial stimulation interventions on preterm

Dorien Emmers1,2,3, Wenjing Yu1,4, Yun Shen1,4

  • 1Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.

Child Development
|February 14, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Preterm low birthweight (LBW) children face higher risks of cognitive delay. Community-based psychosocial stimulation programs effectively improve cognitive development, especially for LBW infants, aiding their developmental catch-up.

Area of Science:

  • Child Development
  • Neonatal Care
  • Public Health Interventions

Background:

  • Advances in neonatal care have improved survival rates for preterm low birthweight (LBW) infants.
  • This has shifted focus to postnatal development trajectories and potential long-term challenges for these vulnerable children.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the impact of community-based psychosocial stimulation programs on the cognitive development of young children in rural China.
  • Specifically, to assess if these interventions benefit preterm LBW children and help mitigate developmental delays.

Main Methods:

  • Pooled data from three cluster-randomized controlled trials conducted between 2014 and 2017.
  • Included 3571 rural Chinese children aged 6-24 months, with a focus on comparing preterm LBW children to their peers.

Main Results:

  • Preterm LBW children exhibited a significantly higher risk (26.5 percentage points) of severe cognitive delay by age 2.5, with a prevalence of 48.3%.
  • Psychosocial stimulation interventions demonstrated a positive impact on overall child cognitive development.
  • The beneficial effects on cognition were disproportionately larger for preterm LBW children, facilitating developmental catch-up.

Conclusions:

  • Community-based psychosocial stimulation is a scalable intervention effective in improving child cognitive development.
  • These programs are particularly crucial for preterm LBW children, offering a pathway to reduce developmental disparities.

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