Factors affecting development of children aged 3-5 years in Muangphrai Primary Care Unit, Selaphum district, Roi-Et province, Thailand

Abstract

This cross sectional-research was intended to characterize the situation of child development, and to investigate the factors associated with development status, in children aged 3-5 years in Muangphrai Primary Care Unit Selaphum District Roi-et Province. 210 participants were studied. Data were collected with 2 forms: (1) A questionnaire that developed by the researcher and based on the Maternal and Child Care Handbook, the Encouragement of Early Child Development Handbook, and the related literatures, the questions measured factors potentially affecting child development (independent variables). These were divided into 3 groups; a) Socio demographic, b) Birth, nutrition and medical history, and c) Developmental history. (2) Using the assessment of child development Anamai’49 that developed by the Department of Health to assess the child development, the assessment had provided child development on 2 ways, either normal development or delayed development. This was the dependent variable. The collected data were analyzed by the statistics of Frequency, Percentage, Crosstabs, Chi-square, and Multiple Logistic Regression, the research reported that, the children aged 3-5 years in Muangphrai Primary Care Unit were in normal development for 58.1% (122/210), and in delayed development for 41.9 percent (88/210). Data were further analyzed by 3 steps of multiple logistic regression to find what factors were statistically significantly associated with delayed development, In the final logistic model, 11 independent variables showed significant associations. These were age (P=0.043), birth order (P< 0.001), quality of antenatal care (P=0.011), delivery process (P=0.033), child breastfed (P=0.022), supplementary nutrition (P= 0.047), diseases obstructing child development (P=0.004), availability of appropriate books (P=0.047), opportunities encouraging child development (P=0.013), Sanitary drinking water (P=0.001), and hygiene learning and health behavior (P=0.001). These associations were generally in the expected directions. Based on study results, the main recommendations include: (1) Families and communities should provide the service of antenatal care cover all pregnant women by the standard of the quality of antenatal care process. (2) Plan to encourage all breastfeeding mothers to provide their children the breastfeeding at least the first six months and to support supplementary nourishment to their children appropriately by age. (3) The communities should provide the sanitary drinking water for their children or their people by improve the water supplies to be sanitary to drink. And (4) To promote personal hygiene for children and their families and for all communities.