Past Issues

Objectives: In this study, we intended to evaluate the retaining rate and effectiveness in a regional integrated early intervention (EI) program for children with developmental delay (DD), and to study the factors associated with outcomes outcome. Methods: During the period from February 2009 to January 2012, we enrolled children of less than 6 years in age who attended the program at a regional medical center in northeastern Taiwan in this study. The caregivers of the children were asked to fi ll out the Chinese Child Development Inventory (CCDI) at both the fi rst visit and the 6-month follow-up visit. Retaining was defi ned as a child who was eligible in the program and completed the assessment at month 6. Results: Totally, 186 children with DD (mean age: 4.0 ± 1.4 years) were recruited in this study, and 128 (68.8%) of the subjects were boys. Six months after the initial assessment, 90 (48.4%) children were retained in the EI program. Compared to children who lost follow-up, those who retained had signifi cantly lower birth weight (p < 0.05) and lower body weight (p < 0.05) at baseline. Six dimensions of children’s development measured by CCDI were signifi cantly improved during a 6-month intervention (p < 0.05 to p < 0.01). Younger age of children at recruitment was signifi cantly correlated with better improvements in children’s development (p < 0.05). Conclusion: This study involved a comprehensive assessment for the outcome and their associated factors of an integrated EI program for children with DD. These fi ndings could provide useful clues for making future improvements to its implementation.