Correlation between utilization of basic public health services for child health management and early childhood development among 6 – 24 month old children in poverty alleviation rural areas in Henan province: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

ObjectiveTo analyze the relationship between the utilization of basic public health services for child health management and the early development of infants and young children in rural areas. MethodsFrom May to June 2023, we conducted an on-site, face-to-face survey of 2 559 caregivers of rural children aged 6 – 24 months recruited through multistage sampling in 4 national and 4 provincial poverty alleviation counties in Henan province. Relevant child data were collected using a self-developed questionnaire and the Ages and Stages Questionnaires – Third Edition (ASQ-3). Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the association between basic public health services for child health management and children's early development. ResultsOf the 2 230 children with valid information, 15.19% were considered to be at high risk of early developmental delay, and the proportions at high risk were 19.82%, 17.56%, 22.40%, and 27.17% for children aged 7 – 8, 9 – 10, 21 – 22, and 23 – 24 months, respectively. Overall, 66.87% of children were reported to have used basic public health services for child health management. The proportion of children at high risk of early developmental delay was lower among those who used basic public health services for child health management than among those who did not (13.22% vs. 19.17%). The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that, after controlling for potential confounders, the use of basic public health services for child health management was significantly negatively associated with high risk of early developmental delay in infants and young children (odds ratio = 0.76, 95% confidence interval: 0.58 – 0.99). ConclusionIn China, more attention should be paid to the lagging early development of infants and young children in poverty-alleviated rural areas, and improving and perfecting basic public health services in rural areas can help promote the provision of children's services and improve the level of early childhood development of rural children.

Keywords

• infants and young children
• national basic public health service
• child health management
• early childhood development