TY - JOUR
T1 - Maternal, paternal, and other caregivers' stimulation in low- and- middle-income countries
AU - Cuartas, Jorge
AU - Jeong, Joshua
AU - Rey-Guerra, Catalina
AU - McCoy, Dana Charles
AU - Yoshikawa, Hirokazu
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Cuartas et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
PY - 2020/7
Y1 - 2020/7
N2 - Background and objectives Globally, studies have shown associations between maternal stimulation and early child development. Yet, little is known about the prevalence of paternal and other caregivers' stimulation practices, particularly in low- and- middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods Data from the Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey (MICS) and the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) were combined across 62 LMICs (2010-2018). The sample included 205,150 mothers of children aged 3 and 4 years. High levels of stimulation were defined as caregiver engagement in at least 4 out of 6 possible activities with the child. The proportion of mothers, fathers, and other caregivers providing high levels of stimulation was calculated by country, region, and for the whole sample. Socioeconomic disparities within and between countries were estimated. Results On average, 39.8% (95% CI 37.4 to 42.2) of mothers, 11.9% (95% CI 10.1 to 13.8) of fathers, and 20.7% (95% CI 18.4 to 23.0) of other adult caregivers provided high levels of stimulation. Stimulation varied by region, country income group, and Human Development Index (HDI), with higher levels of maternal and paternal-but not other caregivers'-stimulation in high-income and high-HDI countries. Within countries, stimulation levels were, on average, lower in the poorest relative to the richest households, and some but not all countries exhibited differences by child sex (i.e., boys vs. girls) or area (i.e., urban vs. rural). Conclusions Results suggest a need for intervention efforts that focus on increasing caregiver stimulation in LMICs, particularly for fathers and in low-income contexts.
AB - Background and objectives Globally, studies have shown associations between maternal stimulation and early child development. Yet, little is known about the prevalence of paternal and other caregivers' stimulation practices, particularly in low- and- middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods Data from the Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey (MICS) and the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) were combined across 62 LMICs (2010-2018). The sample included 205,150 mothers of children aged 3 and 4 years. High levels of stimulation were defined as caregiver engagement in at least 4 out of 6 possible activities with the child. The proportion of mothers, fathers, and other caregivers providing high levels of stimulation was calculated by country, region, and for the whole sample. Socioeconomic disparities within and between countries were estimated. Results On average, 39.8% (95% CI 37.4 to 42.2) of mothers, 11.9% (95% CI 10.1 to 13.8) of fathers, and 20.7% (95% CI 18.4 to 23.0) of other adult caregivers provided high levels of stimulation. Stimulation varied by region, country income group, and Human Development Index (HDI), with higher levels of maternal and paternal-but not other caregivers'-stimulation in high-income and high-HDI countries. Within countries, stimulation levels were, on average, lower in the poorest relative to the richest households, and some but not all countries exhibited differences by child sex (i.e., boys vs. girls) or area (i.e., urban vs. rural). Conclusions Results suggest a need for intervention efforts that focus on increasing caregiver stimulation in LMICs, particularly for fathers and in low-income contexts.
KW - Caregivers/psychology
KW - Child Development
KW - Child, Preschool
KW - Developing Countries/statistics & numerical data
KW - Father-Child Relations
KW - Fathers/psychology
KW - Female
KW - Humans
KW - Male
KW - Mother-Child Relations
KW - Mothers/psychology
KW - Surveys and Questionnaires
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U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0236107
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0236107
M3 - Article
C2 - 32649702
AN - SCOPUS:85088205945
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 15
JO - PloS one
JF - PloS one
IS - 7
M1 - e0236107
ER -