Health promotion through reading in the first thousand days: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background - The first thousand days, the period from theconception to the second year of life, play a fundamental role in establishing the foundation of a newborn’s health, growth and neurological development, finally impacting its entire life. Reading interventions during this period produce numerous positive outcomes for the infants, such as their language skills and development, as well as enhancing the relationship between caregivers and children, supporting the importance of studying the effectiveness of shared reading groups in this period among children without pathologies and their caregivers. This research aims to systematically review evidence on shared group activity in the first thousand days, including also their caregivers, exploring the following outcomes: children’s language skills, cognitive development, prosocial behaviour, parent–child relationship, reading habits, health literacy, quality of life and empowerment. Methods - We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Eight experimental studies met the inclusion criteria: shared group reading intervention involving children up to 24 months with their caregivers (especially parents, but also other caregivers). These interventions typically consisted of 6–12 group sessions led by trained facilitators in community settings. Results - The results showed no clear conclusions. Both the narrative synthesis and meta-analysis suggested improvements on children’s language skills (comprehension), only the narrative analysis suggested positive changes in cognitive development and prosocial behaviour, alongside improved parent–child relationship and enhanced parental skills following the intervention. However, evidence was limited and inconsistent. Conclusions - These findings highlighted the importance of evidence-based interventions in supporting infant development, particularly in disadvantaged contexts addressing inequalities, and the promising role of shared reading as an integral part of such interventions. However, further studies are needed to confirm the effectiveness of these early interventions in fostering optimal developmental outcomes during the critical first thousand days