Department of Biomedical Systems Informatics, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, Geneva, Switzerland
J Med Internet Res. 2022 Aug 31;24(8):e31206. doi: 10.2196/31206.
Policy makers and practitioners in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are increasingly focusing on the effectiveness of digital devices in the delivery of medical and educational services to children under resource constraints. It is widely known that digital literacy can be fostered through exposure to and education regarding digital devices, which can improve children's academic performance as well as their search and communication skills in the digital era. However, the correlation between the cognitive function of children and exposure and intensity of the exposure to digital devices has rarely been studied, and the association between digital device exposure and the socioeconomic characteristics and cognitive development of children in LMICs is unknown.
This study examines the association among exposure to digital devices, socioeconomic status, and cognitive function in children aged 3 to 9 years in Cambodia.
We used a survey of 232 children that gathered data on familiarity with digital devices, demographic characteristics, and socioeconomic status, as well as a Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery test for cognitive function, to examine the association between possible barriers and factors that may influence the cognitive function of children in 2 Cambodian schools from April 22, 2019, to May 4, 2019. A comparative analysis was performed with and without digital exposure, and an association analysis was performed among the variables from the survey and cognitive function.
Significant differences were observed in demographic and socioeconomic characteristics such as school location, family type, and family income according to digital device exposure. The results of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery tests, except for 1 test related to executive function, indicated no significant differences (P>.05) between group A and group B or among the 4 subgroups. Pretest digital device experience and amount of time spent using digital devices during the test had no significant impacts on the cognitive development of the children. Conversely, the multivariate analyses showed that cognitive function was associated with educational expenses per child, school (location), family type, and family income.
These results provide evidence to policy makers and practitioners on the importance of improving socioeconomic conditions, leading to investment in education by implementing programs for children's cognitive development through digital devices in LMICs.
在资源有限的情况下，中低收入国家（LMICs）的政策制定者和从业者越来越关注数字设备在向儿童提供医疗和教育服务方面的有效性。众所周知，数字素养可以通过接触和了解数字设备来培养，这可以提高儿童的学习成绩以及他们在数字时代的搜索和沟通技能。然而，儿童的认知功能与接触和使用数字设备的程度之间的相关性很少被研究，数字设备的接触与 LMIC 儿童的社会经济特征和认知发展之间的关联也尚不清楚。
本研究旨在考察柬埔寨 3 至 9 岁儿童接触数字设备、社会经济地位与认知功能之间的关系。
我们使用了一项针对 232 名儿童的调查，收集了他们对数字设备的熟悉程度、人口统计学特征和社会经济地位，以及剑桥神经心理学测试自动电池测试认知功能的信息，以考察 2019 年 4 月 22 日至 5 月 4 日在柬埔寨 2 所学校中可能影响儿童认知功能的障碍和因素之间的关系。我们进行了有无数字设备暴露的对比分析，并对调查和认知功能之间的变量进行了关联分析。
根据数字设备的使用情况，在人口统计学和社会经济特征方面存在显著差异，例如学校位置、家庭类型和家庭收入。除了 1 项与执行功能相关的测试外，剑桥神经心理学测试自动电池测试的结果在组 A 和组 B 之间或在 4 个亚组之间均无显著差异（P>.05）。预测试数字设备体验和测试期间使用数字设备的时间长短对儿童的认知发展没有显著影响。相反，多元分析表明认知功能与每个孩子的教育费用、学校（位置）、家庭类型和家庭收入有关。
这些结果为政策制定者和从业者提供了证据，证明在 LMICs 中，通过数字设备实施儿童认知发展计划，改善社会经济条件，投资于教育，对于儿童的认知发展非常重要。
