Background. Many risk factors may result in a communication delay. Reliable identification methods are essential to identify infants at risk of communication difficulties in the primary healthcare context. Literature on identifying both atrisk and established risk factors associated with communication disorders in South Africa is limited. Objective. To identify and describe risk factors for communication delays in infants 0 12 months of age at Daspoort Polyclinic in Gauteng. Methods. A structured interview schedule was utilised to conduct an interview with the caregiver participants. Convenience sampling was used to select 96 caregiver participants. Results. The results obtained indicated that all infant participants presented with exposure to one or more risk factors that may possibly impact communication development. High frequencies of risk factors included colds and/or flu during pregnancy, previous miscarriages, maternal smoking, low educational levels and unemployment. Conclusion. The high frequency of atrisk conditions within the Daspoort population justifies the importance of implementation of early communication intervention services in primary healthcare.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.