Mandarin parents’ evaluation of developmental status in the detection of delays

Background We examined the parental perception and accuracy of the Mandarin translation of the Parents’ Evaluation of Developmental Status, a screening questionnaire for parent concerns about children's various developmental skills. Methods The questionnaire was translated into Mandarin. Upon enrollment, caregivers completed the Mandarin PEDS and answered four questions about its acceptability and usefulness, and its ease of understanding and completion. The Mandarin PEDS was independently evaluated by a pediatrician and a community nurse, and classified as high risk (≥two predictive concerns), medium risk (one predictive concern), low risk (any non‐predictive concerns) or no risk (if no concern) for developmental delays. The caregivers repeated Mandarin PEDS at a 2 week interval for test–retest reliability, while the children underwent testing for accuracy using a developmental assessment test. Results The majority (≥85%) of the 73 caregivers perceived the Mandarin PEDS as acceptable and useful, as well as easy to understand and complete. Fifteen (20.5%) and 24 responses (33.9%) were classified as high and moderate risk, respectively. The test–retest and inter‐rater reliabilities were excellent, with an intra‐class correlation coefficient of 0.812 (95% CI: 0.701–0.881, P