Regional variations of child development index in Bangladesh

Heliyon. 2021 May 27;7(5):e07140. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07140. eCollection 2021 May.

Abstract

Early development is a vital phase in childhood life. The study aimed to identify factors that were associated with the early development of 36-59 months children in Bangladesh. The findings of this study will formulate the design of appropriate policy and programmed responses. Utilizing Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey data, influencing components of child development status were evaluated for both rural and urban areas of Bangladesh. A total of 23,099 children under the age of five were included in this analysis. Chi-square analysis was conducted to assess the association between outcome variables and selected covariates. At the same time, this study uses two separate multivariate binary logistics regression models (respectively for urban areas and rural areas) to determine the risk factors that are primarily related to child development. Our research estimates that more than 70 percent of children develop early throughout the country. The multivariate analysis on the determinants of child development index among children aged between 36 and 59 months old regarding residence discovered a significant impact on child age and sex, maternal education, child education, wealth status, reading children's books. The adjusted odds of child nutrition status, playthings, and maternal functional difficulties have had a major impact on early child development in rural Bangladesh. Based on the findings, educational status, nutritional status, wealth-status, and some determinants of children care the most noteworthy findings in this study. Hence, policymakers should emphasize on such factors for improving children's development in residence.

Keywords: Child development; Cognitive development; Early school attend; Nutrition.