Effect of Inclusive Early Childhood Development (IECD) on Growth and Development of Children in the Rural Part of the Central India: A Cohort Study

Objectives To compare the difference between the growth and developmental status of the children who were residing in the area where Inclusive Early Childhood Development (IECD) project was being implemented and who had received interventions through trained Anganwadi workers (Frontline workers) under Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme with the children who had not received the Inclusive ECD project interventions. Methods It was a mixed method cohort study, nested in an ongoing project in a medical college in which Inclusive ECD was used as an intervention through International Guide for Monitoring Child Development (GMCD) which is a tool for both monitoring and assessment with the help of existing government structures and personnel such as Anganwadi workers, Anganwadi supervisors and their contact points with communities. A sample of 200 children was selected; 100 each from intervention group (IECD cohort) and comparison group (Usual care cohort) and were followed till the child became 2 y of age. Results IECD intervention showed statistically significant effect on weight ( p = 0.04) and height ( p = 0.03) of the IECD cohort. Overall developmental assessment showed that the identified developmental issues (Concerns + Delays) were approximately half in IECD cohort (9.67% + 5.37% = 15.04%) as compared to usual care cohort (17.20% + 11.82% = 29.02%). The results from binomial logistic regression performed for developmental outcomes were statistically significant ( p = 0.04) suggesting that children with IECD intervention have lower odds of developing developmental issues. Conclusions The study indicates that it is possible to implement IECD interventions through frontline workers, which significantly improves the growth and development of the children.