Early acknowledgment of developmental difficulties in young children strengthens both preventive and therapeutic approaches. Despite their feasibility, early intervention services are limited in Low-and-Middle-Income (LAMI) countries compared to high income countries. The aim of this study was to examine the evidence for early childhood intervention programs for developmental difficulties in children below five years in LAMI countries through a systematic review and meta-analysis. In this background, original studies published in peer-reviewed journals from 2010 to 2019 with a focus on developmental difficulties including delays and deviances; randomized research design with a clear description of the intervention and measurable outcomes, and conducted in LAMI countries were considered for the systematic review. Electronic databases, including ProQuest, PubMed, Ovid, EBSCOhost, and Google Scholar, were searched using a combination of specific keywords. PRISMA guidelines were followed to include the studies. Each of the selected study was assessed for quality before applying appropriate statistics to synthesize the data. Fourteen publications were identified from 2697 publications for the systematic review, out of which four were found compatible for a meta-analysis. The studies reviewed were conducted in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zambia. A meta-analysis of four studies provided considerable evidence for the effects of early developmental intervention. This systematic review provides an evidence for early childhood intervention programs in LAMI countries. Implications of these findings for the early childhood programs are discussed in this article.

UNASSIGNED: Birth before term is a stressful experience for parents because of the unexpected delivery or admission to the neonatal intensive care unit.
UNASSIGNED: This research aimed to evaluate the impact of the early PT intervention on preterm infants\' parents\' experiences, and also to obtain knowledge about parents\' experiences and perceived difficulties during preterm infants\' care.
UNASSIGNED: This qualitative study is based on the methods of phenomenology. In the first phase, open interviews were developed to allow researchers to immerse themselves in the context of the study and refine the questions for the semi-structured interviews. Data collected from the semi-structured interviews were analyzed through content analysis.
UNASSIGNED: The results were summarized around three themes: 1) parental competence; 2) difficulties during preterm infants\' care; and 3) coping strategies. Each theme was divided into two sub-themes.
UNASSIGNED: Mothers and fathers of preterm infants experienced difficulties when caring for their babies. Parents that received the early physiotherapy intervention felt empowered to take care of their babies and to enhance infants\' development. These parents were more capable of developing coping strategies after the intervention. Parents that did not receive the early physiotherapy intervention expressed difficulties when caring for their preterm babies.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the domains of parent-therapist collaboratively set goals for intervention within a family-centered, tertiary-level early developmental intervention (EDI) program. To report changes in ratings for performance and satisfaction of performance pre- and postintervention for the set goals.
METHODS: This study includes all children with complex developmental disabilities (30 ± 3 months of age, 61% boys) registered in a tertiary-level EDI program from 2009 to 2012 whose parents completed the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) to evaluate goal setting. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health: Children & Youth version (ICF-CY) domain for each goal was recorded. Pre- and postintervention ratings for individual and averaged goals per child were calculated. Positive changes in ratings were determined by an increase of ≤2 and presented as a proportion and as means (standard deviation). Student t test, Fisher Exact and chi-square tests compared groups.
RESULTS: Of 483 individual goals set for 168 children, 65.4% were in the ICF-CY activity domain, 16.4% participation, 10.3% body function, 7.4% environment and 0.4% body structure. Positive changes in ratings for performance occurred in 70%; for satisfaction, 68%, with no difference in relation to domain. Positive changes in average ratings per child showed: performance, 67%; satisfaction, 66%.
CONCLUSIONS: Intervention goals for disabled children within tertiary-level EDI are primarily those of activity, not participation as ICF-CY recommends; two-thirds of goals show positive change. These results suggest the need for further evaluation of goal setting within EDI programs with the expectation of increasing goals of participation and improving ratings for performance and satisfaction.

BACKGROUND: Previous research has indicated positive effects of early developmental intervention (EDI) on the development of children in developing countries. Few studies, however, have examined longitudinally when differential treatment effects may be observed and whether differential outcomes are associated with exposure to different risk factors and country of implementation. Also, birth asphyxia as a risk condition has not been well studied. To address these limitations, we conducted a randomized controlled trial to test the hypothesis that there will be differential developmental trajectories favoring those who receive EDI versus a health education intervention in children in rural areas of India, Pakistan, and Zambia.
METHODS: Children with and without birth asphyxia were randomized to EDI or control intervention, which was implemented by parents who received training in biweekly home visits initiated before child age 1 month and continuing until 36 months. Development was assessed in 376 children at ages 12, 24, and 36 months using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development and Ages & Stages Questionnaire administered by evaluators blind to intervention assignment and risk condition.
RESULTS: Longitudinal mixed model analysis indicated that EDI resulted in better development over 36 months in cognitive abilities, regardless of risk condition, maternal resources, child gender, or country. Psychomotor development and parent-reported general development showed similar trends as for cognitive abilities, but were not statistically different between intervention conditions. Developmental differences were observed first at 36 months of age.
CONCLUSIONS: Early developmental intervention has promise for improving development in children across developing countries when exposed to various risk conditions. EDI should be one prominent approach used to begin to address long-term outcomes and intergenerational transmission of poverty.