Child Development Unit

Since its establishment within CSD in 1996, the Child Development Unit (CDU) experienced many challenges and underwent changes to establish itself as an active and visible unit of the Centre. The Unit is working to achieve its aims to examine the effects of nutritional deficits, poor health, and deprivation on the development of children and to design and evaluate innovative, low-cost and sustainable interventions to improve the situation.

The Unit is currently involved in the Child Development Component of MINIMat, a large community-based project in Matlab, Bangladesh. Data collection on mental development of the infant cohort of the project is nearing completion, and Dr. Fahmida Tofail would use them for her PhD thesis. Preparations for developmental measurements in childhood have been completed, and data collection will begin in January 2004.

Another ongoing study is examining the association between children's urinary arsenic content and their mental development.

Dr. Baitun Nahar is conducting a study to compare the existing child-development activities at NRU of CRSC with a systematic, culturally-appropriate and low-cost programme of psychosocial stimulation and parental counselling.

Two new projects have been developed in collaboration with the Institute of Child Health, UK, Pennsylvania State University, and University of Dhaka. The first study is designed to assess the effects of iron supplementation and/or psychosocial stimulation on mental development and behaviour of children with iron-deficiency anaemia. This would be followed by another study to assess the effects of bio-fortified rice intake with or without psychosocial stimulation on child development.

The scientists of the Unit received training in different capacities. Jena D. Hamadani, Head of CDU, successfully defended her PhD thesis, and Fahmida Tofail is conducting her PhD research work in rural Bangladesh. Two psychologists are undergoing their M. Phil course. CDU participated in a multi-country cognitive testing of the psychosocial care indicators designed by UNICEF. In response to request from UNICEF, CDU conducted extensive field interviews to assess if the respondents could understand the questionnaire that has been developed. The instrument is now ready for use in the MINIMat study. Following extensive field-testing and re-testing of Mac Arthur's Communicative Development Inventory, CDU has developed a Language Inventory suitable for use in Bangladesh. This inventory assesses language ability of children at 12 and 18 months of age and would also be used for study under the MINIMat project. It will be validated with Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II.

Staff