Validation of track and act online developmental screening tool: a pilot study

ABSTRACT

Background: The global prevalence of developmental delay in children is reported as 1-3% according to WHO. Early diagnosis and intervention improve the quality of life in disabled children. There is need for screening tool. So, study was started to evaluate the ability of the online screening tool in detecting the developmental delay in the Indian children.Methods: After IRB approval, around 30 children after parental consent of either gender aged 4 months to 5 years attending the immunization outpatient department were involved in the study After a detailed history, children were screened with online screening tool 'Track and Act'. Due to the logistic reasons among them 30 were assessed in detail using Developmental Assessment Scale for Indian Infants (DASII) which is used as gold standard in this study.Results: Study showed high sensitivity and specificity for all the four domains of the tool. It showed sensitivity and specificity in physical of 83.3% and 91.6%, in language 66.6% and 87.5%, in cognitive 66.6% and 91.6% and in socio-emotional domain 83.3% and 91.6 % respectively.Conclusions: Track and Act screening tool has good test characteristics for detecting developmental delay among Indian children and it can be used for office practice for screening children.