The first years of life are crucial for a child’s development. However, current tools to measure child development are expensive and require extensive translation and adaptation, making them inaccessible to many.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently introduced the Global Scales for Early Development (GSED), a groundbreaking tool designed to measure development of children from birth to three years of age. The GSED is unique in its equitable, accessible, and affordable approach, benefiting children across language groups and cultures. The GSED Norms & Standards Study will develop norms across the 16 sites in 12 countries.

UCSF is currently the study’s only North American site and is enrolling children from the San Francisco Bay Area. The data collected will help set global standards for monitoring child development and support informed decision-making by policy makers and researchers.