Indicators of family care for development for use in multicountry surveys

TitleIndicators of family care for development for use in multicountry surveys
Publication TypeJournal Article
AuthorsKariger, P., E. A. Frongillo, P. Engle, P. M. Britto, S. M. Sywulka, and P. Menon
Indicators of family care for development are essential for ascertaining whether families are providing their children with an environment that leads to positive developmental outcomes. This project aimed to develop indicators from a set of items, measuring family care practices and resources important for caregiving, for use in epidemiologic surveys in developing countries. A mixed method (quantitative and qualitative) design was used for item selection and evaluation. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were conducted to examine the validity of candidate items in several country samples. Qualitative methods included the use of global expert panels to identify and evaluate the performance of each candidate item as well as in-country focus groups to test the content validity of the items. The quantitative methods included analyses of item-response distributions, using bivariate techniques. The selected items measured two family care practices (support for learning/stimulating environment and limit-setting techniques) and caregiving resources (adequacy of the alternate caregiver when the mother worked). Six play-activity items, indicative of support for learning/stimulating environment, were included in the core module of UNICEF's Multiple Cluster Indictor Survey 3. The other items were included in optional modules. This project provided, for the first time, a globally-relevant set of items for assessing family care practices and resources in epidemiological surveys. These items have multiple uses, including national monitoring and cross-country comparisons of the status of family care for development used globally. The obtained information will reinforce attention to efforts to improve the support for development of children.
Title Indicators of family care for development for use in multicountry surveys
Publication Title J Health Popul Nutr
Publication Type Journal Article
Published Year 2012
Authors P. Kariger; E.A. Frongillo; P. Engle; P.M. Britto; S.M. Sywulka; P. Menon
Accession Number 23304914
Number 4
ISBN Number 1606-0997 (Print)<br/>1606-0997 (Linking)
Grant List
-

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

For breaking news and to stay connected, follow us on social media. Sign up to get our E-News delivered straight to your inbox.