Early Childhood Development
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Asia Health Policy Postdoctoral Fellow, 2026-2027
sheikh_jamal_hossain.jpg PhD

Sheikh Jamal Hossain joins the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) as Asia Health Policy Postdoctoral Fellow for the 2026-2027 academic year. He is a researcher and academic specializing in child development, maternal mental health, health promotion, and health economics. He earned his PhD in Women’s and Children’s Health from Uppsala University, with research focused on the effects of parenting interventions integrated with social protection programs on child development and maternal well-being in Bangladesh. He also holds Master's degrees in Public Health and Health Economics from University of Dhaka.

With over two decades of experience spanning academia, public health research, and international development, Dr. Hossain has led and contributed to large-scale randomized controlled trials, implementation research, and economic evaluations addressing early childhood development, nutrition, maternal mental health, and health system strengthening. He has successfully secured and managed research grants from international donors, including Grand Challenges Canada, UNICEF, FCDO, and Sida.

Dr. Hossain has authored more than 30 peer-reviewed scientific publications, including 13 as first author, in leading international journals such as The Lancet Regional Health, Pediatrics, Social Science & Medicine, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, and BMJ Global Health. His research has informed policies and programs aimed at improving child development outcomes and maternal well-being in low-resource settings.

An experienced educator with six years of formal teaching experience, Dr. Hossain has delivered courses and training on health promotion, health economics, research methodology, and program evaluation. He currently mentors multidisciplinary research teams and supervises early-career researchers and graduate students. His professional interests center on advancing evidence-based interventions through rigorous research, teaching, and capacity strengthening, with a commitment to translating scientific evidence into policies and programs that improve the lives of women and children globally.

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Abstract: Social interactions in infancy have implications for long-term outcomes. This study uses data from a sample of 1412 rural Chinese infants aged 6–12 and 24–30 months to examine the relationship between peer interactions and cognitive development. Over 75% of the infants in this sample had less than three peers and around 20% had no peers in both periods. The prevalence of cognitive delays is high within this sample and increases as infants age. Multivariate analysis reveals that peer interaction is significantly associated with cognitive development. Heterogeneous analysis suggests that peer interactions and mental development may be related to the child’s primary caregiver and the distance from the child’s household to the center of their village.

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Publication Type
Journal Articles
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Journal Publisher
Chinese Journal of Sociology
Authors
Scott Rozelle
Number
2
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This study aims to investigate the developmental status of rural Chinese children, the extent of interactive parenting they receive, and the relation between the two. A sample of 448 six to eighteen-month-old children and their caregivers were randomly selected from two rural counties in Hebei and Yunnan provinces. According the third edition of the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, 48.7% of sample children exhibited cognitive delays, 40.6% language delays, and 35% social-emotional delays. According to responses from caregivers, parenting in rural China is largely passive, lacking in interactive practices like storytelling, singing, and playing. Children-with-siblings, left-behind children, and children with less-educated mothers were even less likely to receive interactive practices. Children of caregivers who did engage in best parenting practices showed better cognitive, language, and socialemotional development; however, the public health system provides no platform for learning about optimal parenting.

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Early Child Development and Care
Authors
Scott Rozelle
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