Bahraini Females Knowledge about Developmental Delay in Children: A Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

Guidelines for normal child development had been constructed by studying patterns ofgrowth and development. They included physical, socio-emotional, cognitive and motordevelopment in relation to age. The aim of this study was to provide a statistical dataregarding knowledge of milestones in Bahraini females and their awareness of delayedmilestones complication. This cross-sectional study was conducted from the period of 6thof November 2018 until January 2019. Bahraini females older than 18 years of age (n=628)were selected randomly. Each participant had to fill a specific questionnaire which includedquestions to identify the level of knowledge about the milestones and if they are able toidentify abnormal behavior. The results showed that 93.94% of the population has failedto answer 53% of the survey correctly, leaving only 6.06% of the population completingthe survey with correct answers exceeding the cut-off point. This exhibited the lack ofknowledge towards developmental milestones and the complications thatarise due to their delay. We concluded that Bahraini females lack theknowledge of developmental milestones and the complications of this lack on earlydetection of diseases in their babies. This showed that developmental milestones weremistakenly not taken seriously and were underestimated.KeywordsBahraini females, Knowledge, Developmental delay, Cross-sectional study, Milestones.