Does Long-Term Enrollment in Day-Care Maintain or Increase Early Developmental Gains—Findings from an Intervention Study in Rural Bangladesh

Bibliographic Data

ID15715233
AuthorsPriyanka Agrawal (0000-0003-1314-7143, Johns Hopkins University, corresponding author), Divya Nair (0000-0001-5497-2858, Johns Hopkins University), Shumona Sharmin Salam (0000-0001-9517-7041, Jessop Hospital), Md Irteja Islam (0000-0001-7637-5907, The University of Sydney), Jena Derakhshani Hamadani (0000-0003-0733-6829, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research), Olakunle Alonge (0000-0001-7642-2806, Johns Hopkins University)
Year2022
Volume9
Issue7
Pages929-929
Publication date2022-06-21
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueChildren (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2227-9067 • E-ISSN: 2227-9067
PublisherMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/children9070929
PMID35883913
OpenAlexW4283271373
LanguageEN
References cited32

Objective: Community day-care centers (or crèches) are gaining popularity; access to these centers can reduce cognitive gaps. This paper describes the sustained impact of enrollment in day-cares on cognitive gains. Methods: As part of a larger study, a census of all children was conducted in 2012−2013 to identify children between 9 and 17 months of age in rural Bangladesh. A sub-sample of children (n = ~1000) were assigned to receive either a day-care or playpen. Children from two sub-districts were randomly selected and assessed at 9−17 months of age for cognitive and behavioral domains using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire-III. The same children were then followed-up with after one year to see if the scores obtained by the children in the day-care intervention were different from those enrolled in the playpen intervention using a difference-in-difference estimator. Results: Children enrolled in the day-care intervention performed better (in communication, gross-motor, personal-social, and problem-solving domains) than children enrolled in the playpens when followed up with after a one-year period. Total scores were 0.31 (95% CI 0.141−0.472) higher (p value < 0.001) among children in the day-cares. Family care indicators as well as the child’s and mother’s weight were significantly associated with sustained and increased cognitive gains. Conclusion and relevance: The cognitive and psychosocial improvements seen with short-term exposure to structured ECD programs (day-care) were observed to be sustained over time with continued exposure. Home stimulation and parental involvement add to the long-term benefits of ECD

Cognition · Day care · Intervention (counseling · Psychiatry · Psychosocial · Demography · Early Childhood Education and Development · Family and Disability Support Research · Infant Development and Preterm Care · Medicine · Nursing · Gerontology · Pediatrics