The 'Road to Health' card in a paediatric outpatient department

Area of Science:

• Child Health
• Public Health Interventions
• Healthcare Record Keeping

Background:

• The 'Road to Health' card is a crucial tool for monitoring child development and health.
• Effective utilization of this card is essential for early detection of developmental issues and health concerns.
• Previous assessments of card usage in similar settings are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the utilization and completeness of the 'Road to Health' card in a hospital's paediatric outpatient department.
• To identify areas of under-documentation and inform strategies for improved card usage.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive study was conducted over three annual week-long surveys.
• Data were collected from children attending the Paediatric Outpatient Department of Tygerberg Hospital.
• The presence, condition, and recorded information on the 'Road to Health' cards were analyzed.

Main Results:

• 55% of 621 children had a 'Road to Health' card, with 67% still in their original bag.
• Mass was recorded on a mean of 6 occasions.
• Perinatal data were documented on 80% of cards, but milestone progression was noted on only 25%, and illness episodes on 40%.

Conclusions:

• While the 'Road to Health' card is present for over half of the children, significant gaps exist in recording developmental milestones and illness episodes.
• Improvement in documentation of key health indicators on the card is necessary.
• Targeted interventions are needed to enhance the complete and consistent use of the 'Road to Health' card in clinical practice.