Early childhood developmental status and its associated factors in Bangladesh: a comparison of two consecutive nationally representative surveys

BACKGROUND: Inadequate cognitive and socio-emotional development in children leads to physical and mental illness. We aimed to investigate the status of early childhood development (ECD) and its associated factors. Additionally, aimed to compare the changes of significantly associated factors using two multiple indicator cluster surveys (MICS) in Bangladesh. METHODS: We used data from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) 2012 and 2019 nationally representative surveys. A total of 17,494 children aged 36-59 months were included in the analysis. The outcome variable was ECD status: either developmentally on-track or not. We used bivariable analysis and crude and adjusted multivariable logistic models to assess the ECD status and its associated factors. RESULTS: Comparing both MICS surveys, the overall and individual domains of…