Evaluation of Child Development Knowledge Among Medical Students

Abstract

Objective: With the developments in the world, a significant decrease in the death rates of chronic or fatal diseases causes the problems that affect the development of children to be seen more frequently. Physicians must be aware of the basic developmental stages and information of children during medical education for early diagnosis and intervention. This study aimed to determine the knowledge of medical students about child development. Material and Methods: A total of 482 3rd and 4th-year medical faculty students who did not take the Developmental Pediatrics lecture in the Department of Pediatrics of İnönü University Faculty of Medicine between 2018 and 2019 were included in the study. Our study included socio-demographic information and questions on “Caregiver Knowledge of Child Development Inventory”. Results: 227 (47.09%) 3rd year and 255 (52.90%) 4th-year students were included in the study. The mean Caregiver Knowledge of Child Development Inventory total score was 14.44±5.89 for 3rd-year students and 16.10 ± 5.90 for 4th-year students. More than 50% of the third and fourth year students answered 5 of the 10 questions in the developmental skills component section correctly. It was observed that the developmental skills and stimulation component knowledge of the third and fourth year medical students were not sufficient. It was also understood that the general pediatrics courses given in the third year did not increase the knowledge of the fourth year students about child development. Conclusion: Evaluating the child development knowledge of medical students is important for interventions and studies to ensure that medical students are familiar with and detect developmental delays in infancy and early childhood.