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“Watch Me!” Training Increases Knowledge and Impacts Attitudes Related to Developmental Monitoring and Referral Among Childcare Providers

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Abstract

Objectives

To evaluate the impact of “Watch Me!” developmental monitoring training on childcare providers’ knowledge and attitudes related to monitoring developmental milestones and making recommended referrals when there is a concern about a child’s development.

Methods

A pretest–posttest design using web-based surveys was used to assess the impact of “Watch Me!” training on knowledge and attitudes related to conducting five key components of developmental monitoring (tracking development, recognizing delays, talking to parents about development, talking to parents about concerns, and making referrals). Variables included belief that developmental monitoring is important and is part of childcare provider role; perceived knowledge of, access to tools for, and prioritization of developmental monitoring; and ability to list recommended referrals when there is a concern.

Results

Childcare providers demonstrated a significant pre-post increase in perceived knowledge and access to the tools to engage in five core components of developmental monitoring after completing “Watch Me!” training. There was also a significant pre-post increase in childcare providers’ ability to list the child’s doctor as an appropriate referral (39 pre–63% post), but not in the ability to list Part C/Part B programs as an appropriate referral (56 pre–58% post).

Conclusions for Practice

“Watch Me!” training may be effective at impacting targeted areas of knowledge and attitude about developmental monitoring among childcare providers in the short term.

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Notes

  1. In the cited study, developmental disability is defined as including “attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; intellectual disability; cerebral palsy; autism; seizures; stuttering or stammering; moderate to profound hearing loss; blindness; learning disorders; and/or other developmental delays” (p. 1034).

  2. GLM Poisson analysis was used.

  3. GLM analysis was used.

  4. GLM logistic regression analyses were used.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the participating childcare providers and programs for their contributions to the study. This evaluation study was supported by funding from the Disability Research and Dissemination Center (DRDC) through its cooperative agreement number 5U01DD001007 from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention and by the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) program. Data analysis was supported in part through the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), Grant UL1TR000427. The contents of this report are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the DRDC, the CDC, or the NIH.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Waisman Center University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI, 53705, USA

    Gail Chödrön

  2. School of Public Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Brian Barger

  3. Department of Occupational Science and Technology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, USA

    Kris Pizur-Barnekow

  4. Riley Child Development Center, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA

    Stephan Viehweg

  5. Children’s Hospital Colorado, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, USA

    Alexandra Puk-Ament

Authors
  1. Gail Chödrön
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  2. Brian Barger
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  3. Kris Pizur-Barnekow
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  4. Stephan Viehweg
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  5. Alexandra Puk-Ament
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Correspondence to Gail Chödrön.

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Chödrön, G., Barger, B., Pizur-Barnekow, K. et al. “Watch Me!” Training Increases Knowledge and Impacts Attitudes Related to Developmental Monitoring and Referral Among Childcare Providers. Matern Child Health J 25, 980–990 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-020-03097-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-020-03097-w

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