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Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effects of Self-distancing in Young Children
Published on: March 1, 2019
A retrospective cohort study analyzing the changes in early childhood development during the COVID-19 pandemic
Sahar Romem1, Maja Katusic2, Chung-Il Wi3
1Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine; Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, United States of America.
Insights
Early childhood development (ECD) outcomes remained stable overall during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, certain high-risk subgroups, including males and Hispanic children, showed decreased developmental milestone achievement, potentially worsening existing inequities.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Developmental Psychology
- Public Health
Background:
- Early childhood development (ECD) is crucial for long-term outcomes.
- The COVID-19 pandemic presented unprecedented challenges to families and healthcare systems.
- Understanding the pandemic's impact on ECD is vital for targeted interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine early childhood development (ECD) outcomes in diverse subgroups before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- To identify specific populations disproportionately affected by pandemic-related developmental changes.
- To assess changes in developmental milestone achievement using the Survey of Well-being of Young Children (SWYC).
Main Methods:
- Retrospective cohort study analyzing SWYC data from children aged 3-58 months.
- Data divided into pre-pandemic (Sept 2018-Feb 2020) and during-pandemic (Sept 2020-Feb 2022) phases.
- Logistic regression with repeated measures used to compare developmental milestone scores between phases and subgroups.
Main Results:
- No significant difference in overall developmental milestone achievement was observed between pre-pandemic and during-pandemic periods (OR 0.99).
- Subgroups with decreased odds of meeting developmental milestones included males, Hispanic/Latino ethnicity, specific age groups (24, 30, 36 months), Medicaid recipients, and those requiring interpreters.
- Additional at-risk groups identified were single-parent households, young maternal age, maternal substance abuse, and specific racial/ethnic minorities.
Conclusions:
- While overall ECD outcomes were stable, the pandemic exacerbated developmental inequities in vulnerable subgroups.
- Targeted support is necessary for high-risk populations to mitigate pandemic-related disparities in child development.
- Findings highlight the unequal distribution of suboptimal developmental outcomes, underscoring the need to address systemic factors impacting child development.
Objective:
To investigate early childhood development (ECD) outcomes in different subgroups before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Study Design:
A retrospective cohort study of children 3-58 months of age whose caregivers completed a Survey of Well-being of Young Children (SWYC) as part of a well child visit (WCC). The data were divided into two phases: pre-pandemic (September 2018 - February 2020), and during pandemic (September 2020 - February 2022). The difference in the proportion of forms with Meets Expectations interpreted scores on the SWYC Developmental Milestones pre-pandemic versus during the pandemic timeframe overall and among subgroups were reported. Hypotheses were tested using logistic regression with repeated measures.
Results:
14,550 patients were included in the sample for analysis with 52,558 SWYC form observations. There was no difference in the odds of a Meets Expectations interpreted score before and after the pandemic for the entire sample, OR 0.99 (95 % CI: 0.94-1.04). There was evidence of decreased odds of an interpreted score of Meets Expectations for the following subgroups: male, Hispanic/Latino ethnicity, ages of 24, 30 or 36 months at WCC, Medicaid insurance, 2nd HOUSES Quartile, requiring interpreter, single parent household, young maternal age, maternal substance abuse, and race identified as Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Native Alaskan or Other.
Conclusion:
Decreased odds of meeting developmental milestones during the pandemic were evident in certain high risk sub-groups revealing unequal distribution of suboptimal developmental outcomes within our population during the pandemic that may be exacerbating existing inequities impacting development in children.
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