Peer-reviewed article
Nurturing Care Practices and Developmental Outcomes in Acutely Ill Children Aged 12-36 Months: A Cross-Sectional Study
Amalina Batrisyia Agustin, Fitri Haryanti, Ika Parmawati, Akhmadi Akhmadi ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined the relationship between maternal nurturing care practices and developmental outcomes in 70 acutely ill children aged 12-36 months in Indonesia. Most mothers showed poor nurturing care practices, but 84% of children had age-appropriate development. The study found no statistically significant association between maternal nurturing care practices and child development, nor between other established predictors like maternal education, family economic status, and maternal depression with developmental outcomes.
Key points
- 57.1% of mothers demonstrated poor nurturing care practices
- 84.3% of acutely ill children showed age-appropriate development despite acute illness
- No significant association found between maternal nurturing care practices and child development (p=0.331)
- Fever was the most common acute illness (44.3%) with median duration of 3 days
- Established developmental predictors including maternal education and depression showed no significant associations with developmental outcomes
Limitations
The cross-sectional design prevents determination of causality and cannot establish temporal relationships between nurturing care practices and developmental outcomes. The study was limited to a specific regency in Indonesia with a relatively small sample size of 70 mother-child pairs, which may limit generalisability.
Abstract
Background: The period from 12 to 36 months represents a critical window for child development, yet the relationship between nurturing care practices and developmental outcomes during acute illness remains poorly understood. This study aimed to determine the relationship between maternal nurturing care practices and the developmental status of acutely ill children aged 12-36 months in Bantul Regency, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive-analytic study was conducted among 70 mother-child pairs recruited through consecutive sampling. Maternal nurturing care practices were assessed using a modified questionnaire adapted from UNICEF Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices tools. Child development was evaluated using the Indonesian Pre-Screening Development Questionnaire (KPSP). Maternal depression was measured using the Beck Depression Inventory-II. Data were analyzed using Fisher's exact test, with statistical significance set at p<0.05. Results: The majority of mothers (57.1%) demonstrated poor nurturing care practices, while 84.3% of acutely ill children showed age-appropriate development. Most mothers (80.0%) were aged 20-35 years, had secondary education (50.0%), and were not experiencing depression (68.6%). Fever was the most common acute illness (44.3%), with a median duration of 3 days. No statistically significant association was found between maternal nurturing care practices and child development status (p=0.331, OR=2.250, 95% CI: 0.543-9.330). Additionally, established developmental predictors including maternal education (p=0.745), family economic status (p=1.000), and maternal depression (p=0.873) showed no significant associations with developmental outcomes. Conclusion: These findings highlight the need for context-specific nurturing care assessment tools and longitudinal research designs to better understand the complex dynamics between caregiving practices, acute illness, and developmental outcomes in young children.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Assessment of maternal nurturing care practices during acute illness episodes
- Population
- 70 mother-child pairs with acutely ill children aged 12-36 months in Bantul Regency, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Key finding
No statistically significant association between maternal nurturing care practices and child development status (p=0.331, OR=2.250, 95% CI: 0.543-9.330)
Agustin et al. · OpenAlex - Early Childhood · 11 Dec 2025