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STREAM

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Scalable TRansdiagnostic Early Assessment of Mental Health



The Aim of the Project:


The STREAM project, led by Bhismadev Chakrabarti, Dr. Gauri Divan, Dr. Supriya Bhavnani and Dr. Vikram Patel (Harvard Medical School) is aimed to develop, and validate non-invasive, scalable tools for assessment of child development in preschool years. This early assessment supports the identification of children (o to 6 years of age) at risk of not reaching their full developmental potential (neurodevelopmental disorders) allowing for their referral to timely interventions.


The Background:


STREAM has evolved from four pilot studies by Sangath (2017-2019), which led to the development and validation of digital assessment tools for preschool children’s neurodevelopment. It aims to integrate these tools into a user-friendly platform for non-specialists to administer the tool in India and Malawi. The assessment is targeted towards evaluating cognitive, attention, social communication, and fine motor skills of approximately 2000 children in each country's diverse low-resource settings.

The Project Components:
 

STREAM comprises of three main components:

Malawi Developmental Assessment Tool (MDAT): An assessment tool combining observational and parent-reported developmental evaluations

Developmental Assessment on an E-Platform (DEEP): A tablet-based, gamified cognitive assessment, honed since 2017

Screening Tools for Autism Risk using Technology (START): A collaborative development incorporating camera-based eye tracking and gamified assessments

STREAM also encompasses parent-reported questionnaires on the child’s home environment and psychosocial adversities, alongside clinical assessments using the Griffiths-3, a benchmark developmental assessment tool, to validate the clinical utility and accuracy of the STREAM tool.


Supporters and Project Duration:


This study receives its funding from the Medical Research Council, UK, and spans from 2019 to 2024, with a commitment to delivering a scalable platform to assess key neurodevelopmental domains.

For more information, visit: STREAM | Sangath; write to gauri.divan@sangath.in or supriya.bhavnani@sangath.in