An Assessment of Knowledge and Practices of Mothers on Early Childhood Developmental Milestones in Selected MOH Areas of Galle District

Abstract

Background: Early childhood represents a pivotal developmental period for children. In most societies, mothers assume primary childcare responsibilities thus, their comprehension of developmental milestones significantly influences the quality of care provided. Objectives: To assess the knowledge and practices on early childhood developmental milestones among mothers of children below five years in selected Medical Officer of Health (MOH) areas in Galle district Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 311 mothers by multistage systematic random sampling in Galle and Bope-Poddala MOH clinic setting using a self- developed, pre-tested and self-administered questionnaire, adopted from the Knowledge of Infant Development Inventory and Child Health Development Record (CHDR). Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS version 25.0 and presented as frequency distributions and percentages. Results: About 51.4% mothers were aged between 21-30 years and, 55.6% have educated above G.C.E. Ordinary Level Examination. About 50.2% mothers had ‘good’ overall knowledge on developmental millestones. Of the sample 71.1% had ‘excellent’ knowledge in the physical domain. The majority had ‘fair’ knowledge in the socio-emotional (74.6%) and language domains (74.3%). Of the sample, 60.8% exhibited ‘good’ overall practices. In the physical domain (40.2%) and socio-emotional domain (44.1%), mothers exhibited ‘excellent’ practices. Of the total 38.3% had ‘fair’ practices in the language domain. The ‘poor’ score for both knowledge (32.5%) and practices (43.7%) were obtained for the cognitive domain. Only 34.7% had ‘excellent’ hearing practices and 28.6% had ‘excellent’ vision practices. About 69.8% of mothers marked the milestone assessment section within the CHDR. Regarding vision and hearing sections, most were always observed, followed (vision: 56%, hearing: 60.5%) and documented (vision: 42.4%, hearing: 43.7%) CHDR. Maternal knowledge and practices were positively corelated with the education (knowledge: r=0.17, practice: r=0.003), and monthly income affected only on practices (r=0.125). Conclusions: The average of mothers has sufficient knowledge and practices on development milestones, except the cognitive domain. Comprehensive health education programs favor on underestimated domains.