A tool to assess early motor skill development: A study of Danish health visitors’ practice

Abstract

In Denmark, health visitors play a crucial role in identifying early motor skill difficulties. In 74 % of the Danish municipalities, they use a motor skill assessment tool for infants aged 9–11 months, consisting of evaluating nine motor milestones. The assessment results in one of three remarks: 'age-appropriate motor development', ‘heightened attention required', or 'intervention needed'. This article aims to: 1) determine the relative importance of each milestone in the overall assessment score, 2) investigate the consistencies in test usage across municipalities, and 3) explore factors influencing health visitors' assessments. This mixed methods study utilizes questionnaires and interviews with health visitors from two municipalities. Findings indicate a general consistency in the importance of each motor milestone in both municipalities, with the exception of the milestone 'chews food with a coarser consistency and takes an interest in eating by him/herself.' The health visitors also consider the achievement of the nine-motor milestones more important as the child gets older. Health visitors in both municipalities follow a uniform approach, emphasizing continuous child development over specific motor milestone achievement. They also consider factors like interaction, sensory perception, overall and social development, and the joy of movement, which are not part of the formal assessment. This illustrates that the health visitors have a dynamic system approach to testing motor development, broadening the motor assessment beyond the tool's milestones.