The INTERGROWTH-21st Project Neurodevelopment Package: A Novel Method for the Multi-Dimensional Assessment of Neurodevelopment in Pre-School Age Children

Michelle Fernandes, Alan Stein, Charles R Newton, Leila Cheikh-Ismail, Michael Kihara, Katharina Wulff, Enrique de León Quintana, Luis Aranzeta, Aureli Soria-Frisch, Javier Acedo, David Ibanez, Amina Abubakar, Francesca Giuliani, Tamsin Lewis, Stephen Kennedy, Jose Villar and for the International Fetal and Newborn Growth Consortium for the 21 st Century (INTERGROWTH-21 st )

PLOS ONE, 2014, vol. 9, issue 11, 1-34

Abstract: Background: The International Fetal and Newborn Growth Consortium for the 21st Century (INTERGROWTH-21st) Project is a population-based, longitudinal study describing early growth and development in an optimally healthy cohort of 4607 mothers and newborns. At 24 months, children are assessed for neurodevelopmental outcomes with the INTERGROWTH-21st Neurodevelopment Package. This paper describes neurodevelopment tools for preschoolers and the systematic approach leading to the development of the Package. Methods: An advisory panel shortlisted project-specific criteria (such as multi-dimensional assessments and suitability for international populations) to be fulfilled by a neurodevelopment instrument. A literature review of well-established tools for preschoolers revealed 47 candidates, none of which fulfilled all the project's criteria. A multi-dimensional assessment was, therefore, compiled using a package-based approach by: (i) categorizing desired outcomes into domains, (ii) devising domain-specific criteria for tool selection, and (iii) selecting the most appropriate measure for each domain. Results: The Package measures vision (Cardiff tests); cortical auditory processing (auditory evoked potentials to a novelty oddball paradigm); and cognition, language skills, behavior, motor skills and attention (the INTERGROWTH-21st Neurodevelopment Assessment) in 35–45 minutes. Sleep-wake patterns (actigraphy) are also assessed. Tablet-based applications with integrated quality checks and automated, wireless electroencephalography make the Package easy to administer in the field by non-specialist staff. The Package is in use in Brazil, India, Italy, Kenya and the United Kingdom. Conclusions: The INTERGROWTH-21st Neurodevelopment Package is a multi-dimensional instrument measuring early child development (ECD). Its developmental approach may be useful to those involved in large-scale ECD research and surveillance efforts.

Date: 2014
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0113360

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0113360

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