Jensen Sarah K G, Yibeltal Kalkidan, North Krysten, Workneh Firehiwot, Teklehaimanot Atsede, Abate Betelhem Haimanot, Fasil Nebiyou, Melka Tizita Lemma, Chin Theresa I, Folger Lian V, Roy Paladhi Unmesha, Van Dyk Fred, Thomason Moriah E, Grant Patricia Ellen, Inder Terrie, Worku Alemayehu, Berhane Yemane, Lee Anne Cc
Developmental Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
BMJ Paediatr Open. 2025 Apr 2;9(1):e003173. doi: 10.1136/bmjpo-2024-003173.
Foundational preacademic skills are crucial for academic success and serve as predictors of socioeconomic status, income and access to healthcare. However, there is a gap in our understanding of neurodevelopmental patterns underlying preacademic skills in children across low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). It is essential to identify primary global and regional factors that drive children's neurodevelopment in LMICs. This study aims to characterise the typical development of healthy children and factors that influence child development in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
The Bahir Dar Child Development Study is a cross-sectional study implemented in two health centres, Shimbit and Abaymado and in Felege Hiwot Comprehensive Specialized Hospital (FHCSH) in Bahir Dar, Amhara, Ethiopia. Healthy children between 6 and 60 months of age will be recruited from the health centres during vaccination visits or via community outreach. Young children aged 6-36 months will complete the Global Scale for Early Development. A battery of paper and tablet-based assessments of neurocognitive outcomes including visual and verbal reasoning, executive functions and school readiness will be completed for children aged 48-60 months. Caregivers will respond to surveys covering sociodemographic information, the child's medical history and nutrition, and psychosocial experiences including parental stress and mental health. During a second visit, participants will undergo a low-field MRI scan using the ultra-low-field point-of-care Hyperfine MRI machine at FHCSH. Analyses will examine relationships between risk and protective factors, brain volumes and neurocognitive/developmental outcomes.
The study is approved by the Institutional Review Boards of Addis Continental Institute of Public Health (ACIPH/lRERC/004/2023/Al/05-2024), Mass General Brigham Hospital (2022P002539) and Brown University (STUDY00000474). Findings will be disseminated via local dissemination events, international conferences and publications.
NCT06648863.
基础学前技能对学业成功至关重要，并且是社会经济地位、收入和医疗保健可及性的预测指标。然而，我们对低收入和中等收入国家（LMICs）儿童学前技能背后的神经发育模式的理解存在差距。确定推动LMICs儿童神经发育的主要全球和区域因素至关重要。本研究旨在描述埃塞俄比亚巴赫达尔健康儿童的典型发育情况以及影响儿童发育的因素。
巴赫达尔儿童发育研究是一项横断面研究，在埃塞俄比亚阿姆哈拉州巴赫达尔的两个健康中心（Shimbit和Abaymado）以及费莱格希沃特综合专科医院（FHCSH）开展。6至60个月大的健康儿童将在疫苗接种就诊期间从健康中心招募，或通过社区外展活动招募。6至36个月大的幼儿将完成《全球早期发育量表》。对于48至60个月大的儿童，将完成一系列基于纸质和平板电脑的神经认知结果评估，包括视觉和语言推理、执行功能和入学准备情况。照顾者将回答涵盖社会人口学信息、儿童病史和营养状况以及心理社会经历（包括父母压力和心理健康）的调查问卷。在第二次就诊时，参与者将在FHCSH使用超低场即时护理Hyperfine MRI机器进行低场MRI扫描。分析将考察风险因素与保护因素、脑容量与神经认知/发育结果之间的关系。
本研究已获得亚的斯亚贝巴泛非公共卫生研究所（ACIPH/lRERC/004/2023/Al/05 - 2024）、麻省总医院布莱根医院（2022P002539）和布朗大学（STUDY00000474）的机构审查委员会批准。研究结果将通过当地传播活动、国际会议和出版物进行传播。
NCT06648863。
