IJCM_26A: Validation of Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) screening tool in Screening of Developmental Delay (DD) among under 3-year children in Bengaluru.

Abstract

Background: Most DD tools available are designed in western countries which are lengthy, time consuming and need expertise to administer. RBSK has a simple tool to screen children aged 0-6 for developmental delays and disabilities. However, the psychometric properties are not published in public domain to understand its validity Objective: To study psychometric properties of RBSK screening tool for Screening of Developmental Delay among under 3 year children in Bengaluru. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 262 children were screened in area covering five PHCs in Bengaluru. The children, categorized into eight strata based on age and underwent evaluation for developmental delay using both by the RBSK screening tool and the Ages and Stages questionnaire (ASQ) which is considered as gold standard. sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value along with kappa statistics was calculated readings of both the study tools. Results: The study encompassed a near-equal proportion of male (145,55.3%) and female (117,44.7%) children. Notably, the RBSK screening tool detected developmental delays in 13% of cases, slightly higher than the 10.7% identified by the ASQ tool. The RBSK tool exhibited a sensitivity of 97.01%, specificity of 96.43%, positive predictive value of 99.56% and negative predictive value of 79.41%. The calculated Kappa value of 0.854 signifies substantial agreement with the gold standard ASQ tool, reaffirming the RBSK tool’s validity in identifying developmental delays. Good psychometric properties was observed across gross motor, fine motor, communication, psychosocial and problem solving domains. Conclusion: This study demonstrates good psychometric properties of the RBSK screening tool in terms of sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value. Its user-friendly administration enables screening a larger population, effectively identifying more children with developmental delays, thereby facilitating early interventions crucial for their well-being

Keywords

• development delay disorders
• validation
• screening