Commentary: the epidemiology of neurodevelopmental disorders in Sub-Saharan Africa--moving forward to understand the health and psychosocial needs of children, families, and communities

Evidence-Based Clinical Algorithm for Hypotonia Assessment: To Pardon the Errs

Despite the many advances in diagnostics, the clinical assessment of children with hypotonia presents a diagnostic challenge for clinicians due to the current subjectivity of the initial clinical assessment. The aim of this paper is to report on an evidence-based clinical algorithm (EBCA) that was developed for the clinical assessment of hypotonia in children as part of the output of a multiphased study towards assisting clinicians in more accurate assessments. This study formed part of a larger advanced mixed methods design. The preceding phases of the study included a systematic review, a survey amongst clinicians, a consensus process (Delphi technique), and a qualitative critique with multiple focus groups. Samples were drawn from three professional groups (occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and paediatricians). Data were analysed at each stage and merged in the development of the EBCA. The EBCA followed a rigorous process of development and critique. The methods for formulating changes in the revision and development of the EBCA are presented together with a description and presentation of the final algorithm for practice. The overarching concepts that guided the development and refinement of the EBCA are described, taking into consideration knowledge translation, evidence-based practice, and the value of EBCAs in addition to recommendations for stakeholder uptake. The EBCA is envisaged to be useful in practice for clinicians who are faced with the assessment of a child that is suspected as having hypotonia via a systematic process in identifying specific characteristics that are associated with low muscle tone.

Towards school mental health programmes in Nigeria: systematic review revealed the need for contextualised and culturally-nuanced research

BACKGROUND

School-based mental health programmes, a potential avenue to reach many children and youth, are not yet developed in Nigeria. In view of the importance of cultural nuances in mental health issues, initial groundwork towards the establishment of these programmes in Nigeria must be cognizant of cultural peculiarities at the outset.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of the study was to critically examine, through the lens of transcultural psychiatry, all the currently available epidemiological studies and needs assessments relevant to school-based mental health programmes in Nigeria.

METHODS

The study was a systematic review of relevant studies available from MEDLINE, Science Direct, PsychInfo, Google Scholar, and AJOL databases.

RESULTS

This review shows that there is an ongoing effort at documenting the burden of mental health problems and risks, resource needs, and the available resource and capacity for school-based mental health programmes in Nigeria. However, generally speaking these epidemiological data and needs assessments are significantly limited in epistemological philosophy and cultural contextualisation. This was evidenced by a preponderance of non-representative data, quantitative assessments, and decontextualised interpretation of results and conclusions.

CONCLUSIONS

Going forward, recommendations are offered for culturally-nuanced epidemiology and the direction is set for context-appropriate needs assessments for school-based mental health programmes in Nigeria.

Public health and research funding for childhood neurodevelopmental disorders in Sub-Saharan Africa: a time to balance priorities

Sub-Saharan African (SSA) population consists of about 45% children, while in Europe and North America children population is 10-15%. Lately, attention has been directed at mitigating childhood infectious and communicable diseases to reduce under-five mortality. As the under-five mortality index in Sub-Saharan Africa has relatively improved over the last two decades, more Sub-Saharan African children are surviving beyond the age of five and, apparently, a sizeable percentage of this population would be living with one or more childhood neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD). The distribution of child mental health service resources across the world is unequal. This manifests in the treatment gap of major childhood onset mental health problems in SSA, with the gap being more pronounced for childhood NDD. It is important to balance the public health focus and research funding priorities in Sub-Saharan Africa. We urgently need to define the burden of childhood NDD in the region for healthcare planning and policy formulation.

Post-neonatal mortality, morbidity, and developmental outcome after ultrasound-dated preterm birth in rural Malawi: a community-based cohort study

BACKGROUND

Preterm birth is considered to be associated with an estimated 27% of neonatal deaths, the majority in resource-poor countries where rates of prematurity are high. There is no information on medium term outcomes after accurately determined preterm birth in such settings.

METHODS AND FINDINGS

This community-based stratified cohort study conducted between May-December 2006 in Southern Malawi followed up 840 post-neonatal infants born to mothers who had received antenatal antibiotic prophylaxis/placebo in an attempt to reduce rates of preterm birth (APPLe trial ISRCTN84023116). Gestational age at delivery was based on ultrasound measurement of fetal bi-parietal diameter in early-mid pregnancy. 247 infants born before 37 wk gestation and 593 term infants were assessed at 12, 18, or 24 months. We assessed survival (death), morbidity (reported by carer, admissions, out-patient attendance), growth (weight and height), and development (Ten Question Questionnaire [TQQ] and Malawi Developmental Assessment Tool [MDAT]). Preterm infants were at significantly greater risk of death (hazard ratio 1.79, 95% CI 1.09-2.95). Surviving preterm infants were more likely to be underweight (weight-for-age z score; p<0.001) or wasted (weight-for-length z score; p<0.01) with no effect of gestational age at delivery. Preterm infants more often screened positively for disability on the Ten Question Questionnaire (p = 0.002). They also had higher rates of developmental delay on the MDAT at 18 months (p = 0.009), with gestational age at delivery (p = 0.01) increasing this likelihood. Morbidity-visits to a health centre (93%) and admissions to hospital (22%)-was similar for both groups.

CONCLUSIONS

During the first 2 years of life, infants who are born preterm in resource poor countries, continue to be at a disadvantage in terms of mortality, growth, and development. In addition to interventions in the immediate neonatal period, a refocus on early childhood is needed to improve outcomes for infants born preterm in low-income settings.

Epidemiology of neurodevelopmental disorders in 2 years old Georgian children. Pilot study - population based prospective study in a randomly chosen sample

Three hundred-forty-eight out of a regional population of 1272 newborn infants were randomly chosen and followed neurologically until age of two years to study the epidemiology of neurodevelopmental disorders, and to reveal the main factors influencing outcome. The most frequent neonatal pathologies were low Apgar scores - 45 (3.5%), neonatal sepsis - 28 (2.2%), neonatal seizures - 26 (2.0%), neonatal sepsis complicated with bacterial meningitis - 13 (1.0%), traumatic injury of peripheral nerves - 7 (0.6%), intracranial hemorrhages - 4 (0.3%) and CNS malformations - 3 (0.2%). At the age of 24 months abnormal development was identified in 29 cases (8.5%) of children, comprising global developmental delay in five (1.5%), unclassified motor problems (hypotonia without ataxia) in four (1.2%), cerebral palsy in three (0.9%), behavioral/sleep disorders in 12 (3.5%) and epilepsy in five (1.5%). The most significant single risk factors for abnormal neurodevelopmental outcome were maternal age, chorioamnionitis, gestational age <37 weeks, pathological delivery, and a low (<5) Apgar score at 5min after birth. Coexistence of several risk factors increased the probability of an adverse outcome.