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Background: Early childhood development is a critical determinant of a child's future health, educational attainment, and overall well-being. The study aimed to assess the prevalence of developmental delay and its associated factors among children aged 6–36 months at Assosa City Ethiopia.
Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 520 children aged 6–36 months in Assosa City between January 13 and February 21, 2025. The data were extracted and managed using STATA version 17. A binary logistic regression model was applied to assess the significant predictors that affect the developmental delay.
Results: The prevalence of developmental delay in the studied population was 166 (31.5%, 95% CI: 26.1%–35.8%). The most common area/section of delay was observed in personal-social (44.4%), followed by problem-solving (31.8%), fine motor (28.6%), communication (28.4%), and gross motor (21.8%). Moreover, key significant predictors include: family size (AOR=1.96, 95% CI: 1.09, 3.54), birth interval (AOR=0.56, 95% CI: 0.33, 0.96), not taking iron folic acid (AOR= 2.22 95% CI: 1.59, 5.04), female child (AOR= 2.18, 95% CI: 1.30, 3.64), not completed immunization (AOR= 1.452, 95% CI: 1.258,1.852), home birth place (AOR=1.35, 95% CI: 1.281, 2.365), poor wealth status (AOR=1.23, 95% CI: 1.156, 2.365), and stunting (AOR=3.08, 95% CI: 1.78, 5.32).
Conclusions: This community-based cross-sectional study revealed a high prevalence of developmental delay among children aged 6–36 months in Assosa City, Western Ethiopia. The most affected developmental domains were personal-social, problem-solving, and fine motor skills, highlighting the need for early screening and targeted intervention. These findings underscore the multifactorial nature of developmental delays, emphasizing the need for integrated interventions across health, nutrition, and education. Priorities include improving maternal care particularly antenatal iron-folic acid use promoting birth spacing, preventing stunting, expanding immunization, and supporting caregivers through education and early stimulation. In resource-limited settings like Assosa, early screening and targeted interventions are essential. Longitudinal studies are also needed to clarify causal pathways and long-term outcomes.
