ECCD: The role of

parents & community

ECCD Parenting Circles and Health Post Services in Central America

Essential Package

Country

Community

Family

Child

• National ECCD Policy• Health services

• Caregivers• Family environment

• Development• Nutrition

•PARENTING CIRCLES• HEALTH SERVICES (Learning Corners & Developmental Eval)

Intervention…

When? 0-3

How? Community based model

What? Developmental practices, transition, articulates services.

The Community Strategies

Hollistic Development

COGNITI

ON

HEALTHY

NUTRITIO

NGROSS

MOTOR

FINE

MOTORSOCIO

-

EMOT LANGUA

GE

Evaluation• Ages and Stages test and a home background survey

were chosen as the main tools for the evaluation.

• All children participating in the program were evaluated (for inclusion criteria)

• Control and intervention communities were selected and among the control communities we have 2 main groups, communities with a similar intervention and communities with no intervention at all.

SAMPLE SIZE

Intervention Control-50

50

150

250

350

450

550

650

750

386

102

350

123

BoysGirls

Num

ber o

f chi

ldre

n ev

alua

ted

Families reporting doing all practices Intervention group

First Evaluation Second Evaluation0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

87%

36%

13%

64%Family has done all practices

Family has not done all prac-tices

Perc

enta

ge o

f fam

ilies

Families performing developmental practices Intervention group

First time Less than six months 6 months to less than one year

One year or more40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

ReadingTelling storiesSingingGoing for a walkPlayingTeaching namesTeaching countingTeaching drawing

Children with adequate developmentPre and post

First Evaluation Second Evaluation0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

66%

21%

34%

79%Adequate de-velopment

Risk in devel-opment

Perc

enta

ge o

f chi

ldre

n

Children with adequate development per area. Intervention group

Comunication

Gross motor

Fine motorCognition

Socio-emotional

25%17%

29%19%

17%First Evaluation

Second Evalua-tion

Difference

Children with adequate developmentBy time of participation

First time Less than 6 months

6 months -less than one year

One year or more

-10%

10%

30%

50%

70%

90%

-40%

-20%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

R² = 0.0465245810843985

R² = 0.991328347771953

f(x) = 0.118035248221973 x − 0.291363741109863R² = 0.848188565855442

Control

Linear (Control)

Intervention

Linear (Interven-tion)

Difference (inter-vention - control)

Linear (Difference (intervention - control))

Time participating in the program

Perc

enta

ge o

f chi

ldre

n

Diff

eren

ce b

etw

een

grop

us (i

n %

)

Other remarks

1. Preliminar multiple regression analysis: Time of participation in Parenting Circles and receiving all health services promoted are associated with a higher probability of having adequate development (5 areas) after controlling for mother’s schooling, sex, child’s age.

2. # of books for children and having done all promoted practices also showed a positive relationship.

3. Positive changes exist also in sanitation practices promoted by the project such as: proper use of latrine, hand washing, water purification and water storage.

4. We could not find significative changes in the nutritional status of children.

Next steps

1. Continue implementation and periodical evaluation.

2. Select a follow up cohort (control and intervention) for a longitudinal study.

3. Complete the study with the second evaluation of the control group not receiving any intervention (not shown in this analysis).

4. Further analysis should be done taking into account the home environment variables as well as the quality of the centres.