Health Inequalities: Child Development in Different Social Groups

Objective: To analyze child development in different social groups.

Method: A cross-sectional study with children under 3 years old enrolled in basic health units of a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Child development was verified by the Ministry of Health's Development Monitoring Form. The Social Class Index was used to classify families into social groups and the predefined hierarchical theoretical model for univariate and multiple logistic regression analysis.

Results: The sample consisted of 348 children, in which 29% of the children presented the absence of some developmental milestone expected for their age, while social group and age group were associated with child development in the final model. Children from the least socially inserted groups aged 12 months or older were more likely to be missing some developmental milestone.

Conclusion: The proportion of children with the absence of some developmental milestones is high and associated with lower social inclusion. The importance of developmental surveillance by the primary care nursing team is emphasized in order to identify the most vulnerable groups and to implement early interventions which can minimize the negative effects which worsen with age.