Understanding Parental Awareness of Child Developmental Milestones in West Bank-Palestine: A Cross-Sectional study

Abstract Objective: Parental knowledge of children's developmental milestones is associated with more effective childcare practices and improved overall outcomes. Therefore, this study aimed to assess parents' knowledge levels regarding their children's developmental milestones and the information sources they use in the West Bank of Palestine. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using a questionnaire that had already been verified. Multivariable logistic regression and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. The study included parents aged 18 years or older who reside in the West Bank, Palestine and had at least one child under the age of 14. Participants were selected from ten West Bank cities. The data were collected between January and March 2024. Results: This study included 619 parents aged 18 years or older residing in the West Bank of Palestine. Most respondents (76.0%) demonstrated a “poor” level of knowledge in all four domains. There was a statistically significant association between gender and knowledge level (p ≤ 0.05), females demonstrated a higher proportion of acceptable knowledge (26.5%) than males (13.3%). Among the four domains of child development, parents had the highest level of knowledge of physical development (57.22%). This was followed by cognitive development (27.30%), emotional development (24.81%), and social development (18.83%). Only a few parents (9.2%) claimed that they always relied on health care professionals for information. Conclusion: There is a significant gap in parents' understanding of developmental milestones, raising serious concerns about children's health in West Bank, Palestine. Currently, healthcare institutions and pediatricians play limited roles in health education. Implementing effective health education programs and strategies is essential to enhance child development outcomes in the community.