Peer-reviewed article
EARLY DETECTION OF CHILDREN'S DEVELOPMENT ON STUNTING TODDLERS
Komang Triyani Kartinawati, Luh Gede Pradnyawati, I Made Eka Dwipayana ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined developmental outcomes in stunted toddlers in Indonesia, where stunting prevalence exceeds WHO targets. Researchers conducted interviews with 15 people including stunted toddlers, their caregivers, and health workers to assess gross motor, fine motor, language and adaptive skills. The findings show that stunted children experience impaired development, particularly in fine motor and adaptive skills, and without environmental stimulation from parents and caregivers, developmental delays worsen.
Key points
- Stunting prevalence in Indonesia was 30.8% in 2018, higher than WHO targets
- Stunted toddlers showed impairment in fine motor and adaptive skills, while gross motor and language skills remained relatively normal
- Without stimulation from parents, babysitters and the social environment, stunted children experienced prolonged developmental failure
- Early detection of child development status could serve as a pilot for constructing stunting prevention interventions
Limitations
This is a small qualitative study of 15 participants in one village using purposive sampling, so findings may not be generalizable to other populations or regions. The study describes developmental outcomes in stunted children but does not evaluate an intervention or test a prevention strategy.
Abstract
Stunting is an impaired growth in children because of long-term insufficient nutrition from conception until the age of two. Regarding Basic Health Research 2018, the prevalence of stunting in Indonesia was 30.8%, higher than the WHO’s target. As stated in the Nutritional Status Monitoring, the prevalence of stunting in Karangasem from 2015 to 2017 was 27.5%, 26.1%, and 23.6% respectively. Early detection of child development status could be utilized as a pilot project to construct an intervention scheme for stunting prevention. This research aims for in-depth learning on the children growth status of stunting toddlers in the village of Ban, including gross motor, fine motor, language and adaptive skills. The research method was a qualitative design with a phenomenological approach. The in-depth interview was arranged with 15 participants sorted by purposive sampling, including 5 stunting toddlers, 5 mothers or babysitters of those toddlers, and 5 health personnel in the field. This result showed impairment of child development in long-term stunting toddlers. Without stimulation from parents, babysitters, and the social environment for those impaired children, they would undergo prolonged developmental failure. The data also showed that the majority of children experienced impairment in fine motor-adaptive skills whereas the gross motor and language skills were still normal. Keywords: Stunting; Nutrition; Child Development; In-depth Interview.