Model development for building the capacity of child caregivers for children from birth to 2 years old in early childhood development centers in Thailand

Abstract

Early childhood development is the foundation that influences the quality and efficiency of individuals throughout their lives. Under current social conditions, parents need to rely on early childhood development centers to take care of their children. Therefore, improving the quality of early childhood development centers and their personnel is an urgent necessity, both from the perspective of human quality development and the development of educational models. Child caregivers therefore play an important role and should be empowered to provide care for early childhood children, especially those aged from birth to 2 years. This study aimed to develop a model for building the capacity of child caregivers for children from birth to 2 years old in early childhood development centers in Thailand. The sample group consisted of child caregivers for children from birth to 2 years old in early childhood development centers, each with at least 1 year of experience. The research and development process was divided into three phases: Phase 1 involved a review of existing knowledge combined with qualitative research; Phase 2 focused on developing, implementing, and evaluating the effectiveness and satisfaction with the developed model through a quasi-experimental study using a pretest-posttest design with a non-equivalent control group; and Phase 3 entailed improving the model to ensure suitability through qualitative data collection between September to December 2024. The results of the development led to a model for capacity building of caregivers for children from birth to 2 years old, comprising system-level drivers and support mechanisms. This was achieved through health promotion centers and collaboration with network partners, guided by WHO’s health system development framework (Six Building Blocks). The model included: 1) Capacity building for trainers in collaboration with local educational networks; 2) Strengthening the capacity of caregivers for children from birth to 2 years old through a 6-module curriculum, including the development of e-learning courses in the form of Massive Open Online Courses; and 3) Support systems for implementation through the PIRAB strategy, adapted to local contexts, and a national database system for monitoring and evaluation. The results of the study found that caregivers who received capacity building in the developed format had significantly higher knowledge and practical skills compared to the control group who did not receive capacity building. Moreover, the sample group reported a good level of satisfaction. The health and development outcomes of the children under their care met the standard criteria and were higher than the overall average of Thai early childhood children. The development model can be used as policy proposals for health centers and health districts to implement and drive according to the local context