A non-specialist worker delivered digital assessment of cognitive development (DEEP) in young children: A longitudinal validation study in rural India.
Cognitive development in early childhood is critical for life-long well-being. Existing cognitive development surveillance tools require lengthy parental interviews and observations of children. Developmental Assessment on an E-Platform (DEEP) is a digital tool designed to address this gap by provid...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2025-05-01
|
| Series: | PLOS Digital Health |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pdig.0000824 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849730210066333696 |
|---|---|
| author | Supriya Bhavnani Alok Ranjan Debarati Mukherjee Gauri Divan Amit Prakash Astha Yadav Chaman Lal Diksha Gajria Hiba Irfan Kamal Kant Sharma Smita Todkar Vikram Patel Gareth McCray |
| author_facet | Supriya Bhavnani Alok Ranjan Debarati Mukherjee Gauri Divan Amit Prakash Astha Yadav Chaman Lal Diksha Gajria Hiba Irfan Kamal Kant Sharma Smita Todkar Vikram Patel Gareth McCray |
| author_sort | Supriya Bhavnani |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cognitive development in early childhood is critical for life-long well-being. Existing cognitive development surveillance tools require lengthy parental interviews and observations of children. Developmental Assessment on an E-Platform (DEEP) is a digital tool designed to address this gap by providing a gamified, direct assessment of cognition in young children which can be delivered by front-line providers in community settings. This longitudinal study recruited children from the SPRING trial in rural Haryana, India. DEEP was administered at 39 (SD 1; N = 1359), 60 (SD 5; N = 1234) and 95 (SD 4; N = 600) months and scores were derived using item response theory. Criterion validity was examined by correlating DEEP-score with age, Bayley's Scales of Infant Development (BSID-III) cognitive domain score at age 3 and Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (CPM) at age 8; predictive validity was examined by correlating DEEP-scores at preschool-age with academic performance at age 8 and convergent validity through correlations with height-for-age z-scores (HAZ), socioeconomic status (SES) and early life adversities. DEEP-score correlated strongly with age (r = 0.83, 95% CI 0.82 0.84) and moderately with BSID-III (r = 0.50, 0.39 - 0.60) and CPM (r = 0.37; 0.30 - 0.44). DEEP-score at preschool-age predicted academic outcomes at school-age (0.32; 0.25 - 0.41) and correlated positively with HAZ and SES and negatively with early life adversities. DEEP provides a valid, scalable method for cognitive assessment. It's integration into developmental surveillance programs could aid in monitoring and early detection of cognitive delays, enabling timely interventions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e3ad404b4f1b4b0aa6bf4754284ca03d |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2767-3170 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLOS Digital Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-e3ad404b4f1b4b0aa6bf4754284ca03d2025-08-20T03:08:56ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLOS Digital Health2767-31702025-05-0145e000082410.1371/journal.pdig.0000824A non-specialist worker delivered digital assessment of cognitive development (DEEP) in young children: A longitudinal validation study in rural India.Supriya BhavnaniAlok RanjanDebarati MukherjeeGauri DivanAmit PrakashAstha YadavChaman LalDiksha GajriaHiba IrfanKamal Kant SharmaSmita TodkarVikram PatelGareth McCrayCognitive development in early childhood is critical for life-long well-being. Existing cognitive development surveillance tools require lengthy parental interviews and observations of children. Developmental Assessment on an E-Platform (DEEP) is a digital tool designed to address this gap by providing a gamified, direct assessment of cognition in young children which can be delivered by front-line providers in community settings. This longitudinal study recruited children from the SPRING trial in rural Haryana, India. DEEP was administered at 39 (SD 1; N = 1359), 60 (SD 5; N = 1234) and 95 (SD 4; N = 600) months and scores were derived using item response theory. Criterion validity was examined by correlating DEEP-score with age, Bayley's Scales of Infant Development (BSID-III) cognitive domain score at age 3 and Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (CPM) at age 8; predictive validity was examined by correlating DEEP-scores at preschool-age with academic performance at age 8 and convergent validity through correlations with height-for-age z-scores (HAZ), socioeconomic status (SES) and early life adversities. DEEP-score correlated strongly with age (r = 0.83, 95% CI 0.82 0.84) and moderately with BSID-III (r = 0.50, 0.39 - 0.60) and CPM (r = 0.37; 0.30 - 0.44). DEEP-score at preschool-age predicted academic outcomes at school-age (0.32; 0.25 - 0.41) and correlated positively with HAZ and SES and negatively with early life adversities. DEEP provides a valid, scalable method for cognitive assessment. It's integration into developmental surveillance programs could aid in monitoring and early detection of cognitive delays, enabling timely interventions.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pdig.0000824 |
| spellingShingle | Supriya Bhavnani Alok Ranjan Debarati Mukherjee Gauri Divan Amit Prakash Astha Yadav Chaman Lal Diksha Gajria Hiba Irfan Kamal Kant Sharma Smita Todkar Vikram Patel Gareth McCray A non-specialist worker delivered digital assessment of cognitive development (DEEP) in young children: A longitudinal validation study in rural India. PLOS Digital Health |
| title | A non-specialist worker delivered digital assessment of cognitive development (DEEP) in young children: A longitudinal validation study in rural India. |
| title_full | A non-specialist worker delivered digital assessment of cognitive development (DEEP) in young children: A longitudinal validation study in rural India. |
| title_fullStr | A non-specialist worker delivered digital assessment of cognitive development (DEEP) in young children: A longitudinal validation study in rural India. |
| title_full_unstemmed | A non-specialist worker delivered digital assessment of cognitive development (DEEP) in young children: A longitudinal validation study in rural India. |
| title_short | A non-specialist worker delivered digital assessment of cognitive development (DEEP) in young children: A longitudinal validation study in rural India. |
| title_sort | non specialist worker delivered digital assessment of cognitive development deep in young children a longitudinal validation study in rural india |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pdig.0000824 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT supriyabhavnani anonspecialistworkerdelivereddigitalassessmentofcognitivedevelopmentdeepinyoungchildrenalongitudinalvalidationstudyinruralindia AT alokranjan anonspecialistworkerdelivereddigitalassessmentofcognitivedevelopmentdeepinyoungchildrenalongitudinalvalidationstudyinruralindia AT debaratimukherjee anonspecialistworkerdelivereddigitalassessmentofcognitivedevelopmentdeepinyoungchildrenalongitudinalvalidationstudyinruralindia AT gauridivan anonspecialistworkerdelivereddigitalassessmentofcognitivedevelopmentdeepinyoungchildrenalongitudinalvalidationstudyinruralindia AT amitprakash anonspecialistworkerdelivereddigitalassessmentofcognitivedevelopmentdeepinyoungchildrenalongitudinalvalidationstudyinruralindia AT asthayadav anonspecialistworkerdelivereddigitalassessmentofcognitivedevelopmentdeepinyoungchildrenalongitudinalvalidationstudyinruralindia AT chamanlal anonspecialistworkerdelivereddigitalassessmentofcognitivedevelopmentdeepinyoungchildrenalongitudinalvalidationstudyinruralindia AT dikshagajria anonspecialistworkerdelivereddigitalassessmentofcognitivedevelopmentdeepinyoungchildrenalongitudinalvalidationstudyinruralindia AT hibairfan anonspecialistworkerdelivereddigitalassessmentofcognitivedevelopmentdeepinyoungchildrenalongitudinalvalidationstudyinruralindia AT kamalkantsharma anonspecialistworkerdelivereddigitalassessmentofcognitivedevelopmentdeepinyoungchildrenalongitudinalvalidationstudyinruralindia AT smitatodkar anonspecialistworkerdelivereddigitalassessmentofcognitivedevelopmentdeepinyoungchildrenalongitudinalvalidationstudyinruralindia AT vikrampatel anonspecialistworkerdelivereddigitalassessmentofcognitivedevelopmentdeepinyoungchildrenalongitudinalvalidationstudyinruralindia AT garethmccray anonspecialistworkerdelivereddigitalassessmentofcognitivedevelopmentdeepinyoungchildrenalongitudinalvalidationstudyinruralindia AT supriyabhavnani nonspecialistworkerdelivereddigitalassessmentofcognitivedevelopmentdeepinyoungchildrenalongitudinalvalidationstudyinruralindia AT alokranjan nonspecialistworkerdelivereddigitalassessmentofcognitivedevelopmentdeepinyoungchildrenalongitudinalvalidationstudyinruralindia AT debaratimukherjee nonspecialistworkerdelivereddigitalassessmentofcognitivedevelopmentdeepinyoungchildrenalongitudinalvalidationstudyinruralindia AT gauridivan nonspecialistworkerdelivereddigitalassessmentofcognitivedevelopmentdeepinyoungchildrenalongitudinalvalidationstudyinruralindia AT amitprakash nonspecialistworkerdelivereddigitalassessmentofcognitivedevelopmentdeepinyoungchildrenalongitudinalvalidationstudyinruralindia AT asthayadav nonspecialistworkerdelivereddigitalassessmentofcognitivedevelopmentdeepinyoungchildrenalongitudinalvalidationstudyinruralindia AT chamanlal nonspecialistworkerdelivereddigitalassessmentofcognitivedevelopmentdeepinyoungchildrenalongitudinalvalidationstudyinruralindia AT dikshagajria nonspecialistworkerdelivereddigitalassessmentofcognitivedevelopmentdeepinyoungchildrenalongitudinalvalidationstudyinruralindia AT hibairfan nonspecialistworkerdelivereddigitalassessmentofcognitivedevelopmentdeepinyoungchildrenalongitudinalvalidationstudyinruralindia AT kamalkantsharma nonspecialistworkerdelivereddigitalassessmentofcognitivedevelopmentdeepinyoungchildrenalongitudinalvalidationstudyinruralindia AT smitatodkar nonspecialistworkerdelivereddigitalassessmentofcognitivedevelopmentdeepinyoungchildrenalongitudinalvalidationstudyinruralindia AT vikrampatel nonspecialistworkerdelivereddigitalassessmentofcognitivedevelopmentdeepinyoungchildrenalongitudinalvalidationstudyinruralindia AT garethmccray nonspecialistworkerdelivereddigitalassessmentofcognitivedevelopmentdeepinyoungchildrenalongitudinalvalidationstudyinruralindia |