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Factors Determining Availability, Utilization and Retention of Child Health Card in Western Nepal
K P Paudel1, D C Bajracharya2, K Karki2
1Child Health Division, Department of Health Sciences, Ministry of Health, Nepal.
Insights
Child health cards in Nepal are crucial for tracking immunization records. Factors like damage by children and lack of proper storage reduce card retention, impacting child health monitoring.
Area of Science:
- Child Health
- Public Health
- Health Management Information Systems
Background:
- The immunization card in Nepal has been revised to include general child health information, becoming the child health card.
- This card is an integral part of the Health Management Information System for tracking immunization records.
- The study focuses on identifying factors influencing the availability, utilization, and retention of child health cards in Western Nepal.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the factors affecting the availability of child health cards.
- To assess the utilization patterns of child health cards.
- To identify reasons for the retention and loss of child health cards.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study was conducted with 600 mothers of children under 24 months.
- Participants were selected using systematic random sampling from Gorkha and Nawalparasi districts.
- Data analysis involved SPSS for quantitative data and matrix analysis for qualitative data.
Main Results:
- Card retention was 82.2%, with higher retention (90.3%) in the 0-12 months age group compared to 12-24 months (74%).
- Primary reasons for non-retention included cards being damaged by children (54.6%), lack of proper storage, unawareness of importance, and poor card quality.
- Inconsistent use of old and new card versions and limited utilization beyond birth registration were noted.
Conclusions:
- Broadening the utilization scope of child health cards can enhance retention rates.
- Addressing card damage by children and ensuring proper storage are key to improving card retention.
- Improving card quality and user awareness are essential for effective child health management.
Background:
The immunization card is revised with addition of general information about child health and is later called as child health card. This card is a tool used by Health Management Information System in Nepal. It is important for tracking the records of immunization. Aim is to identify the factors determining the availability, utilization and retention of the child health card in Western Nepal.
Methods:
A cross sectional study was conducted among mothers having children < 24 months old from Gorkha (Western Hill) and Nawalparasi (Western Terai) districts. The sample size for the study was 600 and systematic random sampling was used to select the mothers having less than 24 months old children. Data entry and analysis was done by using SPSS. Qualitative data was analyzed by making matrix.
Results:
The average age of respondents was 24 years. The majority of respondents have gained higher level education. Retention of the card was found to be 82.2%. 90.3% retention was seen among 0-12 months children age group whereas it was 74 % among12 to 24 months age group. The reasons for less retention were torn by the child/played by child (54.6%) followed by lack of proper place,unaware about importance and poor quality of card.The new child health cards were insufficient, compelling use of both new and old cards which created problem in consistency. Regarding utilization of child health card, it was found to be used for birth registration and for further studies in abroad.
Conclusions:
The areas of utilization of child health card should be broadened so that the retention of card can be increased. The main reasons for less retention of the card are torn by children and lack of the proper place.
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