Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
BMJ Open. 2023 May 16;13(5):e071232. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-071232.
Many children in low-income and middle-income countries are disadvantaged in achieving early developmental potential in childhood as they lack the necessary support from their surroundings, including from parents and caregivers. Digital technologies, such as smartphone apps, coupled with iterative codesign to engage end-users in the technology-delivered content development stages, can help overcome gaps in early child development (ECD). We describe the iterative codesign and quality improvement process that informs the development of content for the , localised for nine countries in Asia and Africa.
Between 2021 and 2022, an average of six codesign workshops in each country were conducted in Afghanistan, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya and Namibia.A total of 174 parents and caregivers and 58 in-country subject matter experts participated and provided feedback to refine and inform the cultural appropriateness of the app and its content. Detailed notes from the workshops and written feedback were coded and analysed using established thematic techniques.
Four themes emerged from the codesign workshops: local realities, barriers to positive parenting, child development and lessons learnt about the cultural context. These themes, as well as various subthemes, informed content development and refinement. For example, childrearing activities were requested and developed to promote inclusion of families from diverse backgrounds, encourage best parenting practices, increase engagement of fathers in ECD, address parents' mental well-being, educate children about cultural values and help bereaved children with grief and loss. Also, content that did not align with the laws or culture of any country were removed.
The iterative codesign process informed the development of a culturally relevant app for parents and caregivers of children in the early years. Further evaluation is required to assess user experience and impact in real world settings.
许多低收入和中等收入国家的儿童在童年时期实现早期发展潜力方面处于不利地位，因为他们缺乏周围环境的必要支持，包括父母和照顾者。数字技术，如智能手机应用程序，加上迭代式的共同设计，让最终用户参与到技术提供的内容开发阶段，可以帮助弥补早期儿童发展（ECD）方面的差距。我们描述了迭代式共同设计和质量改进过程，该过程为 应用程序的内容开发提供了信息，该应用程序已在亚洲和非洲的九个国家进行了本地化。
在 2021 年至 2022 年期间，在阿富汗、印度尼西亚、吉尔吉斯斯坦、乌兹别克斯坦、喀麦隆、刚果民主共和国、埃塞俄比亚、肯尼亚和纳米比亚等每个国家平均进行了六次共同设计研讨会。共有 174 名父母和照顾者以及 58 名国内主题专家参与并提供反馈，以完善和告知 应用程序及其内容的文化适宜性。从研讨会中详细记录的笔记和书面反馈意见被编码并使用既定的主题技术进行分析。
从共同设计研讨会中出现了四个主题：当地现实、积极育儿的障碍、儿童发展以及关于文化背景的经验教训。这些主题以及各种子主题为内容开发和完善提供了信息。例如，请求并开发了育儿活动，以促进来自不同背景的家庭的包容，鼓励最佳育儿实践，增加父亲在 ECD 中的参与度，解决父母的心理健康问题，教育儿童了解文化价值观，并帮助丧亲的孩子应对悲伤和失落。此外，还删除了与任何国家的法律或文化不一致的内容。
迭代式共同设计过程为早期儿童的父母和照顾者开发了一个具有文化相关性的应用程序。需要进一步评估以评估在真实环境中的用户体验和影响。
