Perception of Parents of Children with Suspected Developmental Delays Regarding an Access to Services for the Promotion of Early Childhood Development in 10th Public Health Region

Abstract

The development of some early childhood children in the 10^th Public Health Region is delayed. This qualitative study aimed to explore the perception of the parents with children who have suspected developmental delays regarding the services for the promotion of early childhood development. Study setting was the 10^th Public Health Region. The informants were selected using a purposive sampling technique. They were composed of two groups: 18 people who were parents or guardians of children who had suspected developmental delays and 36 people who were public health officers and teachers at the child developmental centers. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews, and non-participant observations. All instruments were validated by three specialists in child and family development. The item-objective congruency indexes of the three instruments were .67 and 1.0. The data was analyzed using content analysis. Three aspects of the parents’ perceptions about access to the services were found: 1) Parents considered their children’s development to be normal by comparing it with their own the development or that of acquaintances from their childhood 2) they did not receive sufficient information about their children's development, and 3) they thought that it was the responsibility of the child development center teachers and public health workers to promote child development. In terms of the parents’ perceived problems and obstacles, there were four issues, including 1) insufficient information about child development, 2) insufficient investigation of the parents' understanding, 3) an inability to follow instructions due to parents' obligations, and 4) parents receiving inappropriate information from media concerning promoting child development promotion. The results suggest that promoting better child development will require improving parental education about child development knowledge during the provision the required services. It is suggested that avenues for self-access to appropriate media should be created and social support systems should be developed.