Reliability of information obtained by illiterate health workers regarding risk pregnancy

The present study aims at testing the reliability of information obtained by illiterate workers (IHW) on risk pregnancy. Eight maternal risk factors known to be related to low birth weight were utilised for the purpose. The reliability of information obtained by the IHWs were compared with that of the trainer. The reliability proportions (RP) for various parameters ranged from 0.78 to 0.96 with an average of 0.86. For the overall risk assessment, the RP was 0.73. The results of the present study suggest that the IHWs can recorded the risk indicators with fair degree of reliability and accuracy, which may be applied to the training of traditional birth attendants in field settings.