Prevalencia de los retrasos del desarrollo psicomotor con o sin discapacidad y los factores asociados en niños y niñas de cero a cinco años de edad que asisten a los centro de desarrollo infantil INFA-Cuenca. Enero junio de 2009

Abstract

The following case study was realized through a small study, of which the objective was to ¨Determine the prevalence of delays in development with or without disability and the associated disruptive factors in childhood development in children from zero to five years old that attend the Center for Childhood Development INFA in Cuenca during the period from January to June 2009.¨ The center selected were: San Francisco, Polluelitos, Nuestro Hogar, Virgen de Guadalupe y Virgen de la Merced, in which Brunet Lezine use the delay tests Eve and BVD for for children younger than and older than 3 years, respectively. The tests allowed the study team to separate the population in three groups, without delay, delay without disability, and delay with disability. A descriptive method was used; a questionnaire was developed in order to obtain personal details and information regarding risk factors. The surveys and tests were applied in one interview for which informed consent was obtained. From data processing and statistical analysis, figures of frequency of the different variables studied, including chi squared tests with their respective p value, were produced in order to determine the relationship between risk factors.

The total population of children was 257, so a sample of 105 children was chosen for study. Within this sample population, 53.3% were male while the remaining 46.7% were female, and the average age was 40.81 months. The following risk factors were represented in the sample population as following: the weight of 92.4% were between -2+2DS, the size of 88.6% was between -2+2DS, the cephalic perimeter was between -2+2DS in 93.3%, the nutritional state was normal in 80%, 61% belonged to a Nuclear family, 4.8% had a father that had migrated, 88.6% were cared from by their mother, 88.6% did not present developmental delay, 10.5% had developmental delays without sign of a disability, and 1% had developmental delays with a disability, 0% benefitted from early attention, 91.6% were not detected, none were sent from other centers nor were attending another center for early childhood stimulation.

The risk factors affected the causal relationship in the following way. Delayed Psychomotor Development (DPMD/DPLD) was correlated with or without disability: Age (chi squared: 57. 01, p=0.00) and migration (chi squared: 70.13 and p=0.00). The following factors were not correlated: nutritional state (chi squared: 10.75, p=0.096), cephalic perimeter (chi squared: 3.52, p=.48), type of family (chi squared: 7.03, p=0.31), caretaker (chi squared: 5.65, p=0.84). In our case study, the factors of age and migrated family member act as risk factors for DPLD with or without disability. The other factors did not show statistically significant correlation but nonetheless should continue to be observed and controlled.

Keywords: Prevalence studies, child development disorders, psychomotor disorders, associated factors, infants, preschool, developmental disabilities, children with disabilities, child development centers, kindergartens, public sector, INFA, rural and urban, Cuenca Ecuador.