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Developmental surveillance in general practice
Insights
Routine developmental surveillance in children under 5 identified suspected disorders in 11-15% of participants. While valuable, national scaling requires enhanced specialist services to manage referrals effectively.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Developmental Pediatrics
Background:
- Developmental surveillance programs aim to identify developmental disorders early in children.
- The Court Committee recommended routine surveillance for children.
- Assessing the feasibility and impact of such programs is crucial for public health initiatives.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of a developmental surveillance program in a general practice setting.
- To determine the prevalence of suspected developmental disorders in children under 5.
- To assess the referral rates to specialist agencies.
Main Methods:
- A two-year prospective study involving 2157 children under 5 years old.
- Home visits were conducted for 382 newborn babies.
- Data collection focused on suspected disorders identified during routine surveillance, excluding non-routine consultations.
Main Results:
- Suspected disorders were detected in 232 children (15% of boys, 11% of girls).
- 171 children (104 boys, 67 girls) were referred to specialist agencies.
- The findings support the value of routine surveillance for identifying developmental issues.
Conclusions:
- Routine developmental surveillance is a worthwhile endeavor for early detection of childhood disorders.
- National implementation of such programs necessitates increased resources for specialist services.
- The study highlights the need for infrastructure development to support widespread surveillance initiatives.
Abstract:
During a two-year study of a developmental surveillance programme covering all children under 5 in a large general practice in the south of England, 2157 children were examined, including 382 newborn babies seen at home. Suspected disorders--excluding those found during non-routine consultations--were discovered in 232 children (15% of boys and 11% of girls), of whom 171 (104 boys and 67 girls) were referred to specialist agencies. The number and nature of the disorders show that routine surveillance on the lines proposed by the Court Committee is worth while. Nevertheless, such programmes could not be started on a national scale without increased resources for the specialist services to which more children would need to be referred.