NAMASTE / Community engagement and involvement / Community engagement toolkit

Community engagement toolkit

This multi-component toolkit was co-designed with input from 209 individuals including caregivers, autistic adults, health professionals, and community advisory board members across the four study sites in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

The outcome is a suite of nine multimedia tools, including:

  • awareness posters
  • child developmental milestone calendars
  • training materials for health workers
  • informational videos and flyers.

These resources are tailored to support caregivers in recognising early signs of NDDs and accessing appropriate screening and care pathways. They also help non-specialist health and care workers to raise awareness about child development in the community and facilitate neurodevelopmental delay and disorder (NDD) screening.

We are undertaking ongoing research to assess the effectiveness, usability and impact of the toolkit across different implementation contexts. This will help us refine the toolkit further, identify practical challenges and amplify the voices of caregivers and community workers in shaping inclusive, responsive healthcare systems.

 

What’s in the community engagement (CE) toolkit?

A poster titled 'Is your child showing these signs?', with three illustrations with the following text: does not respond to their name, does not point to things they want, and does not speak two-word phrases.

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A poster titled 'Is your child doing these actions?', with illustrations showing children responding to their name, pointing at things they want, and speaking two-word phrases.

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Awareness posters

Two posters focusing on early developmental milestones encourage caregivers to seek help from their local non-specialist health workers, if concerned. These are meant to be placed within immunisation centres and community pre-schools, and at health posts.

A leaflet page with an illustration of a healthcare worker. The text below the image reads 'I am specially trained to understand your child's early development'.

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Badge of Credibility

This badge is worn by the non-specialist health workers at the time of conducting detection screening to signify that they have adequate training to support parents in their caregiving journey and address any challenges about child development.

A still from a video featuring caregivers' stories. The still shows two women on a mobile device screen.

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Caregivers’ stories videos

Short video stories showcasing real experiences of caregivers, highlighting the positive outcomes of early intervention.

These will be shared by NAMASTE programme personnel with the family after the detection of NDD during community screening.

An excerpt of a document explaining what PASS Plus is. The text reads: This is a social communication intervention which helps caregivers support their children. It is being offered free of cost by the NAMASTE programme. The intervention has helped most families and children, who have received it in the past. You're on the right path!

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Information pack and testimonial video

The information pack contains a printed document about the PASS Plus or WHO CST interventions, and aims to help caregivers understand the intervention and the importance of their role throughout the intervention.

These will be provided to families at the start of the intervention. Caregivers enrolled into PASS Plus also receive a testimonial video by a family that has completed the intervention.

The cover of the child development milestone calendar, with the text 'let's start tracking' on it. 

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Child development milestone (CDM) calendar

An interactive calendar to facilitate caregivers’ use of existing child development trackers (CHDR in Sri Lanka and MCP card in India), bust common myths and build caregivers’ knowledge about development milestones.

All caregivers with children under two years old will be provided with the CDM calendar by non-specialist workers (NSWs).

"I am Dr Gauri Divan, and I have been practicing as a child health care specialist for over 30 years now." 

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Expert’s opinion audio recording

An audio recording featuring advice by a context-relevant health specialist emphasising the importance of tracking child development and encouraging the parent to participate in the screening questionnaire.

A still from a video. The still shows two people walking down a street.

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Health specialist video

This video features a context-relevant health specialist, such as a developmental paediatrician who reassures caregivers after NDD detection, and encourages them to enrol for the offered intervention.

These will be shared by NAMASTE programme personnel to the family after detection of a NDD.

An excerpt of a document explaining post-intervention support. It advises parents to go to a child doctor at their nearby district hospital and to follow doctor's guidance on procedures and diagnosis.

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Post-intervention resources

This tool component contains frequently asked questions about accessing government-aided services, disability certification and long-term care for each site. These resources will be provided to families by the intervention deliverer at the end of the intervention.

It includes story snippets to demonstrate the steps in applying for government aid, and a QR code that links to an expanded list of resources for each location.

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