Predictors of developmental surveillance completion at six months of age in south western Sydney

B J Overs; S Woolfenden; K Williams; B Jalaludin; E L Axelsson; C Dissanayake; J Descallar; S Harvey; D Beasley; E Murphy; V Eapen; ‘Watch Me Grow’ Study Group

doi:10.1111/cch.12425

Predictors of developmental surveillance completion at six months of age in south western Sydney

Child Care Health Dev. 2017 Mar;43(2):307-315. doi: 10.1111/cch.12425. Epub 2016 Dec 1.

Authors

B J Overs¹, S Woolfenden^{1

2}, K Williams^{3

4

5}, B Jalaludin^{1

6

7}, E L Axelsson^{8

9}, C Dissanayake¹⁰, J Descallar^{7

11}, S Harvey¹, D Beasley¹², E Murphy¹², V Eapen^{1

6

7}; ‘Watch Me Grow’ Study Group

Affiliations

¹ University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
² Sydney Children's Hospitals Network, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
³ Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
⁴ Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
⁵ University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁶ South Western Sydney Local Health District, Liverpool, NSW, Australia.
⁷ Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW, Australia.
⁸ Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
⁹ Academic Unit of Child Psychiatry, South Western Sydney Local Health District Liverpool, NSW, Australia.
¹⁰ Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
¹¹ South Western Sydney Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Liverpool, NSW, Australia.
¹² Child and Family Health, New South Wales Ministry of Health, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Abstract

Background: While developmental surveillance programs promote early identification of child developmental problems, evidence has indicated suboptimal uptake. This study aimed to identify predictors of developmental surveillance completion at 6 months postpartum.

Methods: Questionnaires were administered to the parents of 510 infants who were born in south western Sydney, Australia over a 22-month period. Attendance for developmental screening and completion of the Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS) at 6 months postpartum were modelled separately using multivariable logistic regression.

Results: Developmental surveillance attendance was predicted by higher levels of maternal education, annual income and being informed about checks. PEDS completion at 6 months of age was predicted by higher income and being informed, as well as being married, employed, speaking English at home, full-term birth and the professional status of the practitioner completing the check.

Conclusions: Barriers to developmental surveillance included low socioeconomic status, linguistic diversity and possible gaps in parental knowledge and professional education. Developmental surveillance rates may be increased by the addition of targeted parental and professional support within current universal frameworks.

Keywords: Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status; cultural and linguistic diversity; developmental surveillance; socioeconomic disadvantage.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Child Development*
Child Health Services / statistics & numerical data
Communication Barriers
Developmental Disabilities / diagnosis*
Disability Evaluation
Early Diagnosis
Female
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humans
Infant
Male
Mass Screening / statistics & numerical data
Middle Aged
New South Wales
Parents / psychology
Patient Acceptance of Health Care / statistics & numerical data*
Population Surveillance
Socioeconomic Factors
Young Adult