Acceptability and understanding of the Ages & Stages Questionnaires®, Third Edition, as part of the Healthy Child Programme 2-year health and development review in England: Parent and professional perspectives.

BACKGROUND: The Healthy Child Programme is the universal public health system in England to assess and monitor child health from 0 to 19. Following a review of measures for closer monitoring at age 2 years, the Department of Health for England implemented the Ages & Stages Questionnaires®, Third Edition (ASQ-3™; Hereon, ASQ-3).

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the acceptability and understanding of the ASQ-3 in England by health professionals and parents.

METHOD: A mixed-methods approach was used. This paper reports on the qualitative data drawn from interviews with 40 parents and 12 focus groups with 85 health professionals. The data were analysed using applied thematic analysis.

FINDINGS: Overall, parents and health professionals found the ASQ-3 acceptable and understandable and could use it as a measure at age 2 years. The ability to work in partnership was valued. Some limitations included potential to cause anxiety, concerns around the safety of some of the items, and use of Americanized language. Health professional's training in the use the ASQ-3 was inconsistent.

CONCLUSION: The ASQ-3 is an acceptable and understandable measure to use as part of the 2-year assessment with some adaptations to the English context and some standardized training for health professionals.