Scholarlink

Background <p>Early childhood development is a critical public health priority in Southeast Asia, where 250&#xa0;million children face developmental risks. We examined determinants of early childhood development across three countries to inform context-specific policy.</p> Methods <p>We analysed nationally representative Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey data from Viet Nam (1,888 children aged 24–59 months, 2020–2021), Thailand (4,872 children, 2022), and Lao PDR (4,156 children, 2023). The outcome was on-track ECDI2030 status, assessed using the standard UNICEF scoring algorithm based on age-appropriate developmental milestones across the learning, psychosocial well-being, and health domains. Five analytical approaches were compared; the relative contribution of each determinant was quantified using SHapley Additive exPlanations analysis.</p> Results <p>In Viet Nam, 73.8% of children were on-track; 81.2% in Thailand and 68.3% in Lao PDR. Home learning environment was the dominant determinant across all three countries, contributing 19.6–20.4% of total predictive importance. Early childhood education attendance contributed 16.0–19.8%, with importance increasing by 3.8% points from Viet Nam to Lao PDR. Responsive caregiving contributed 10.5–11.8%. Sanitation quality, infectious disease burden, children’s books availability, and water quality showed the largest cross-country distributional differences; home learning environment showed no significant variation.</p> Discussion <p>Home learning environment is a universal determinant of early childhood development in Southeast Asia, while specific factor importance varies by setting. Findings support prioritising caregiver support programmes universally, expanding early childhood education in lower-resource settings, and integrating water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions with child development programmes.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Determinants of early childhood development and implications for child health policy across three Southeast Asian countries: a cross-country analysis

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月6日

查看全文
  • Van-Tuy Nguyen,
  • Minh An Nguyen-Huu,
  • Kieu Khanh Nguyen,
  • Chi Thang Doan,
  • Hoang Bach Nguyen,
  • Chau Duc Nguyen-Huu

摘要

Background

Early childhood development is a critical public health priority in Southeast Asia, where 250 million children face developmental risks. We examined determinants of early childhood development across three countries to inform context-specific policy.

Methods

We analysed nationally representative Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey data from Viet Nam (1,888 children aged 24–59 months, 2020–2021), Thailand (4,872 children, 2022), and Lao PDR (4,156 children, 2023). The outcome was on-track ECDI2030 status, assessed using the standard UNICEF scoring algorithm based on age-appropriate developmental milestones across the learning, psychosocial well-being, and health domains. Five analytical approaches were compared; the relative contribution of each determinant was quantified using SHapley Additive exPlanations analysis.

Results

In Viet Nam, 73.8% of children were on-track; 81.2% in Thailand and 68.3% in Lao PDR. Home learning environment was the dominant determinant across all three countries, contributing 19.6–20.4% of total predictive importance. Early childhood education attendance contributed 16.0–19.8%, with importance increasing by 3.8% points from Viet Nam to Lao PDR. Responsive caregiving contributed 10.5–11.8%. Sanitation quality, infectious disease burden, children’s books availability, and water quality showed the largest cross-country distributional differences; home learning environment showed no significant variation.

Discussion

Home learning environment is a universal determinant of early childhood development in Southeast Asia, while specific factor importance varies by setting. Findings support prioritising caregiver support programmes universally, expanding early childhood education in lower-resource settings, and integrating water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions with child development programmes.