Cultural adaptation, validation, and standardization of a developmental screening tool (ASQ-3) in Iranian children.

Objectives: This study aimed at culturally adapting, validating, and standardizing the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, third edition (ASQ-3) by implementing a nation-wide cross-sectional methodological study in order to provide a valid and reliable tool for determining the developmental status of Iranian children. Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional and methodological study was conducted on Iranian children between 1-66 months. The ASQ-3 tool was translated; following that, its face and content validity, as well as the cross-cultural adaptation were assessed by 51 specialists and experts in the field of pediatrics and child development. In order to determine the reliability of the ASQ-3 (using Cronbach's alpha), and cut-off points. All statistical analyses were performed using STATA software. Results: This study was enrolled in 2 phases. The face and content validity, as well as the cultural relevance of the Persian version of ASQ-3 was confirmed using panel of specialists views then researchers investigated 11,740 children aged 1-66 months in order to evaluate the reliability of the tool. The Cronbach's alpha coefficients (reliability) determined for the ASQ-3 and the cut-off points for the ASQ-3 of different age groups and domains were determined by calculating one and two SDs below the mean; the latter represents the main cut-off point, and the interval between the two represents the monitoring zone according to the ASQ-3 technical manual. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the Iranian version of ASQ-3 is valid and reliable; moreover, the cut-off points designated for it can be implemented in the Iranian children community to assess their developmental status.

Early Childhood COVID-19: A Comparative Report of 20,506 Cases.

This report includes a retrospective analysis of 20506 children aged under 6 years old admitted with Coronavirus Disease of 2019 in Iranian hospitals. The total mortality rate was 2.9%, and 5.7% required mechanical ventilation. We demonstrate a higher mortality rate in comparison with existing studies as well as identifying clinical predictors of survival.

Comparing the effectiveness of two interventional methods; lecture-based versus self-learning; on mothers' ability to assess the development of 12-month-old children seeking comprehensive health services centers.

INTRODUCTION: Developmental delay of children is a global health concern. One of the important measures in the care of children and the assessment of children's health is the knowledge and ability of mothers about the condition of their children's development. The purpose of this study was to compare the outcome of lecture-based method versus self-learning package on the ability of mothers to assess the development of their 12-month-old children seeking comprehensive health services centers in Arak city, central province of Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study is a semi-experimental study. The sample included 189 mothers of 12-month-old children. The data gathering tools were age and stages questionnaire with confirmed validity and reliability. The participants in the study were divided into three group as follows: lecture, self-learning, and control group which were evaluated by pretest and posttest. Data analysis was performed with SPSS version 21. RESULTS: The results of this study indicate that both of interventional methods; lectures and self-learning; had a statistically significant effect on the ability of mothers to evaluate the development of their children (P = 0.001). In the self-learning group, the score of the participants increased from 53.35 ± 44.269 to 70.15 ± 47.290 and in the lecture group, the score of participants increased from 55.28 ± 41.268 to 16.14 ± 38.292 according to the posttests. CONCLUSION: Due to the importance of self-care and active role in the learning process, we suggest the use of self-learning package in practice.