Quality of care and early childhood developmental status in Nepal: a multilevel analysis

ABSTRACT

This study aims to look at the early childhood developmental (ECD) status in order to measure the effects of quality of care and to estimate the variations in ECD status across the ecological environment in Nepal. A total of 2279 children aged between 36 and 59 months has been analysed from the Nepal’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, 2014. It is found that 64.44 per cent of sampled children are on track of early childhood development in Nepal. Multilevel logistic regression reveals that the indicators of quality of care having with three or more children’s books (OR = 2.62; p = <0.001) and fathers’ engagement in four or more activities (OR = 2.42; p = <0.001) with the child as contributing significantly to the ECD status. Besides, children who belong to the richest households are 4.33 times more likely to have ECD status in comparison to children of poorest households after controlling for all other factors.

KEYWORDS:

• Quality of care
• ecological environment
• childhood development
• multilevel analysis
• Nepal
• Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the UNICEF for providing the MICS data sets. They extend their gratitude to Prof. K. S. James, CSRD, JNU for his analytical support. They thank Moradhvaj, CSRD, JNU for helping in preparing the data. They thank Dr. Komal P. Dulal and Dr. Ramesh B. Kafle, Purbanchal University, Nepal for the discussions. They also thank the Centre on Population Dynamics, McGill University for giving the opportunity to present the manuscript at the Conference – Global Need for Formal Child Care, August 2017.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Rayhan Sk is a Senior Research Scholar at the Centre for the Study of Regional Development, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. His recent research focuses on early childhood development (ECD) and wellbeing.

Anuradha Banerjee is a Professor of Geography in The Centre for the Study of Regional Development, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. She teaches Geography and Population Studies since 1999. Her research interests are maternal and child health and care; reproductive health; population, environment and development, urbanization and urban development.

Rakesh Mishra is a PhD Research Scholar at the Centre for the Study of Regional Development, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. He has a statistical background. His research deals with the formal demography and social demography in the developing countries.

Somdutta Barua is a PhD Research Scholar at the Centre for the Study of Regional Development, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. Her research interest focuses on population health and mental health.