Search

Background: Although poor dietary habits have a great effect on the health status of children, especially in toddlers, a few questionnaires exist for the assessment of dietary imbalances. This study aims to assess the validity and reliability of the NutriCHEQ in Iranian healthy toddlers. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, first, the NutriCHEQ was translated to Persian and culturally adapted by the forward--backward translation technique. In order to assess the face validity, we used a cognitive interviewing technique of 25 parents/caretakers of healthy toddlers. In the next step, experts assessed content validity, respectively. One item was removed during the content validity process. Then, a blueprint of NutriCHEQ was distributed among 156 parents/caretakers of healthy toddlers in different focal points in Tehran for assessing construct validity by nonlinear principal components analysis. In addition, the anthropometric indices checklist and Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) were filled out for toddlers. Then, construct validity was assessed. The Varimax rotation ran for two sections separately. The four-factor structure was confirmed. Results: The model showed a good fit, and all the extracted variance of four factors were satisfactory (F1 = 20.77; F2 = 22.30; F3 = 14.75; and F4 = 13.71). All of the extracted items of the NutriCHEQ in two parts showed 71.53% cumulative variance. For criterion-related validity, there was a statistically significant positive correlation between the NutriCHEQ and Z-score (rho = 0.632, P < 0.001). The Bland-Altman result indicates 95% limits of agreement between the NutriCHEQ questionnaire and Z-score. Conclusions: Therefore, we concluded that NutriCHEQ is a valid, reliable, and convenient instrument to identify the Iranian toddlers' nutritional status. Therefore, it can be used for research and clinical settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Health service providers closely monitor the developmental state of toddlers to identify the factors affecting this process because any defect during this period will cause irreversible damage. Therefore, this study investigated the relationship of nutritional behaviors and parent-child interactions with the developmental domains of Iranian toddlers., Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 341 toddlers aged 12-36 months covered by comprehensive health centers in the south of Tehran in 2021-2022. The participants were selected through single-stage cluster sampling. To this end, 16 comprehensive health centers were randomly selected, and then some of the clients from each center were randomly selected as the sample. The required data were collected through the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ), the Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ), the Child-Parent Relationship Scale (CPRS), and a demographics form. They were then analyzed statistically using descriptive and inferential statistics in SPSS-21, considering a significance level of p < 0.05., Results: The results showed that most participants were normal in all developmental domains (communication, gross motor, fine motor, personal-social, and problem-solving), with a mean developmental delay ranging from 1.8 to 7%. The most serious problem of participants requiring medical referral was related to gross motor (7%) with a mean of 54.35 ± 7.28 followed by communication (6.5%) with a mean of 49.41 ± 9.67. The mean nutritional behavior of participants was 77.9 ± 21.7. A significant relationship was found between the nutritional behaviors of participants and the problem-solving domain of development (p = 0.018). The results also indicated a mean parent-child interaction score of 94.26 ± 12.63. There was a significant relationship between parent-child interactions and the communication area of development (p = 0.04)., Conclusion: Since some areas of toddler development are influenced by children's nutritional behavior and parent-child interactions, it is necessary to train families to identify, monitor, and correct the factors affecting the development of their children. Health system officials and planners are also recommended to develop interventions to improve the nutritional behaviors of children and parent-child interactions., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

BACKGROUND: Sleep health is a prerequisite for mental and physical health. The family affects the sleeping habits of the child. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the theory of mothers' planned behavior in predicting sleeping habits of toddlers. METHODS: The participants of this descriptive-analytical study were 120 mothers of 12- to 36-month-old children living in Razan, Hamadan province, Iran. Data were collected in three stages in order to develop a theory-based tool. Semi-structured qualitative interviews with mothers were conducted to investigate the application of theory in predicting mothers' intention and behavior (n = 25). The face and content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by a panel of experts. Test-retest method was used to determine the reliability of the questionnaire at 3 weeks interval (n = 25). Validity of Structural Convergence and Divergence with Factor Analysis, Internal Consent with Cronbach's Alpha and predictive validity was determined by multiple regression coefficients (n = 120). RESULTS: The mean age of the children was 22.8 ± 7.5 months, 55% (66 children) were boys, the mean score of the children's sleep questionnaire was 49 ± 6, and the children's sleep duration was 9 ± 1 hour. Theoretical constructs have a positive and direct correlation with each other and with children's sleep habits, which demonstrates the validity of the theory in predicting toddler sleep habits. Regression analysis showed that perceived behavioral control was the strongest predictor of sleeping habits of toddlers (= 0.446) (P = 0.000). The theory of planned behavior can explain 30.5 to 25.7% of the variance of toddler sleep habits. CONCLUSION: While recommending more comprehensive studies, the findings of the study emphasize the application of the theory of planned behavior in identifying factors influencing sleep habits and designing child sleep improvement interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective The aim of the present study was to screen the toddlers who are suspected to be autistic in their well-child visits at age 18 to 24 months via the Quantitative-Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (Q-CHAT). Materials & Methods After the screening, the screen-positive cases were clinically assessed by a child psychiatrist and a child developmental psychologist. The total sample included 2467 toddlers; the mean total score of Q-CHAT was 30.64 (SD: 9.133). Result According to the clinical examinations, 6 cases met the criteria for autism (equal to 5.8% of screen-positive cases and 0.25% of the total sample), and 18 cases had a high probability of autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders. Conclusion This study showed that the toddlers who were at risk of autism could be screened in PHC. Also, Q-CHAT could be used as a screening tool in Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]