Background: Worldwide, more than 200 million children in low- and middle-income countries have developmental delays
and/or disabilities. In South Africa the only nationally implemented developmental ‘screening’ tool is integrated as part of
‘The Road to Health Booklet (RTHB).
Method: The study employed a comparative cross- sectional within-subject design to evaluate the accuracy of the RTHB developmental
checklist against a standardized international tool i.e. the PEDS tools, consisting of the PEDS and PEDS:DM.
A total of 201 participants were included through convenience sampling at primary health care facilities in Tshwane, South
Africa.
Results: Sensitivity of the RTHB developmental checklist is low, but specificity is high. The RTHB developmental checklist
failed to identify more than half the infants at risk of delays or disorders. The nationally implemented developmental checklist
is ineffective to identify at-risk infants. It should be adapted and validated or replaced in order to improve identification
of at-risk infants.