Arabic Ages and Stages Questionnaire-III
Condition: Child Development
Study type: Observational

Summary: 
      Early detection and intervention for developmental delays are crucial in promoting healthy
      child development, hence the need for formal screening. In the Arabic speaking population
      developmental screening tools are scarce in the native language and there is a need for such
      a tool for pediatricians and health care workers to use routinely.

      This study aims to translate, adapt and validate the newest version of ASQ (ASQ-3) to Arabic
      (A-ASQ-3) based on the previously published study showing that ASQ-2 was culturally
      sensitive.

      The previously translated A-ASQ-2 will be revised and updated to match the new ASQ-3, then
      revised by experts in child development. Questionnaires will be adapted and field-tested on
      15 subjects per age group (total of 75). For validity, the revised version will be tested on
      500 Lebanese children (100 children per age group) selected from all Lebanese governates.

      It is expected to generate a culturally adapted and validated Arabic tool for screening
      children for any developmental delay up to 3 years of age. This tool once published will be
      available for use by primary care providers and caregivers in Arabic speaking countries. It
      may be used to screen children for developmental delay as early as 7 months therefore
      prompting prevention of further delay by starting early intervention and promoting child
      development.
    

Detailed description: 
      The Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) is a developmental screening questionnaire for
      parents to answer regarding their children's level of growth and development between the ages
      of 7 months and 3 years. This questionnaire was translated into Arabic in order to adapt it
      for the Arab speaking culture. For the first phase of this study, aiming to adapt and
      field-test this translated version, parents of eligible children will be recruited from the
      AUBMC outpatient clinics (OPD and Private Clinics). Interested parents of eligible children
      will be invited to a private meeting in private settings where the study will be thoroughly
      explained. 75 parents (fathers or mothers) will be interviewed and asked to answer the ASQ.

      At a later stage, 500 parents will be interviewed and asked to answer the ASQ in order to
      test its validity. A list of all day care centers in Lebanon will be retrieved from the
      ministry of public health website and a list of all Lebanese pediatricians will be sought
      from the both Lebanese Order of Physicians (Beirut and Tripoli). Eligible day cares are the
      ones with at least 15 children between 7 and 36 months. Eligible physicians are those who are
      actively seeing patients aged between 7 and 36 months with a patient load of at least 10 per
      day.

      To minimize selection bias and to include different socioeconomic groups, a random sample of
      eligible day care centers and pediatricians from across the Lebanese governorates (Beirut,
      Mount Lebanon, South Lebanon, North Lebanon and Beqaa) will be selected.

      After obtaining the permission of the selected day care centers and pediatricians, flyers
      explaining the study and inviting parents to participate will be distributed and posted at
      those centers. Parents of eligible children who contact us and show interest in participating
      will be invited for a meeting in private settings. Construct validation will be done using
      varimax rotation, concurrent validity will be done by correlating ASQ-3 scores with Bayley
      scale for infant development scores. Sensitivity and specificity will also be tested.

      Parents will be asked some questions regarding their child's growth in order to evaluate
      several aspects of his/her developmental skills. It takes 10-15 minutes to complete the
      questionnaires. After completing the questionnaire, the child's developmental status will be
      evaluated and any risk of delay will be detected.
    

Intervention name(s): Arabic ASQ -3
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Administration of a developmental questionnaire in Arabic (A-ASQ-3) and validation using BSID-III as a gold standard
Observational model: Other
Time perspective: Cross-Sectional
Sampling method: Probability Sample
Study population: 
        For adaptation, 75 parents of eligible children between the ages of 4 months and 3 years
        will be approached.

        For validation of A-ASQ-3, 500 Children (100 per age group) from a random sample of day
        care centers and pediatricians' clinics from across the country will be recruited.
      
Keywords: Early Child Development; Ages and Stages Questionnaire _3; Validation