Validation of the Global Scale for Early Development (GSED) for children 0 to 36 months of age in the Pacific: protocol

Abstract

Objectives

Early childhood starting at conception is a period of rapid development and has implications for health and well-being throughout the life-course. Validated measures are critical for countries interested in population level monitoring of child development and to evaluate policies and services aimed at enhancing children's health and development. This project aims to address this need for children aged 0–36 months in Kiribati, a small and widely dispersed island nation in the central Pacific Ocean, by adapting and validating the Global Scale for Early Development Short Form (GSED SF). This study contributes uniquely to the literature as it is the first time that the GSED has been adapted and applied in the Oceania-Pacific region.

Study design

Psychometric validation study of the GSED SF in Kiribati.

Methods

The Global Scale for Early Development Short Form (GSED SF) adaptation and validation study will involve 500 children, 100 each from five randomly selected villages in South Tarawa, Kiribati. Validity testing will involve established steps: face validity, cultural and context neutrality, test-retest reliability, inter-rater reliability, construct validity and discriminant validity. We will evaluate measurement invariance including differential item functioning and differential test functioning to ensure that the GSED SF is fair and unbiased.

Conclusions

This project will provide Kiribati with a tool for monitoring and evaluation of early child development in children from birth to 36 months at the national and programmatic level. The study will also provide the first validation of the GSED SF in the Pacific region.