Integrating early psychosocial stimulation of undernourished children into primary care may improve their development. Powell and colleagues (p 89) randomised 139 undernourished children and their mothers in Jamaica to an intervention consisting of a weekly session discussing parenting issues and play activities for one year, or to standard care. Children in the intervention group had better developmental quotients, hearing and speech, hand and eye coordination, and scores on a performance scale than children in the control group; their mothers had gained a better knowledge of childrearing practices.
Figure 1.
Credit: BEBETO MATTHEWS/AP