Aggregate results on developmental health
EDI results for individuals may be aggregated to various levels of complexity, provided the groupings can be categorized in a clear and meaningful way. The useful results that can be aggregated, averaged, and reported include the following:
- Demographic variables for children (e.g., gender, age, first language).
- Locally specific variables (e.g., children’s participation in local programs, residence in particular neighbourhoods)—to show local distribution and/or compare with normative data.
- Variations in developmental health by microlevel units of aggregation (e.g., schools, city neighbourhoods, nongeographic communities such as ethnic groups)—to provide locally relevant information about children’s developmental health.
- Comprehensive, macrolevel aggregations of developmental health for large geographic or jurisdictional areas (e.g., by city, province, country)—to provide useful information for many purposes. These results will not necessarily be applicable to all neighbourhoods or smaller communities because of the variation among populations in large areas.
Compare results among groups
EDI data may be used to show differences between and among groups. For example, EDI data can be used to:
- Look at gender differences in developmental health (e.g., average scores of boys and girls in EDI domains; percentage of boys and girls who are vulnerable)—which could be presented using statistics and simple graphics.
- Compare groups across geographic areas—for example, apart from demographic variables (e.g., gender, age), comparisons of children who did or did not participate in a specific program or did or did not attend preschool.
- Compare average scores and contrast a range of scores across neighbourhoods—for example, two communities may differ slightly in the overall percentage of children who are vulnerable in developmental health, , but a more detailed comparison could show that the percentage range of vulnerable children across neighbourhoods in one community is much wider than that in the other community.
Examine results in association with other societal indicators
Macrolevel aggregations of EDI scores are useful data in association with other societal indicators. For example, EDI data on developmental health could be studied in relation to:
- National macrolevel indicators—for example, gross domestic product (GDP), or city, country, state/province statistics on education levels, school enrolment, and income
- Longer-term outcomes, including older children’s outcomes (if presented at the same macrolevel)—for example, school dropout rates, enrolment in academic programs
- Environmental or geographic statistics (if the level of aggregation is comparable)—for example, pollution levels, availability of parks and playgrounds
- Policy issues (e.g., availability and duration of parental leaves) in association with international variations in EDI results
- Population-level health variables (e.g., low birth rates, childhood injuries, frequency of breastfeeding)