Adherence to Growth Monitoring Procedures by Health Workers at Primary Health Care Clinics in Mopani District, South Africa

Abstract

The inconsistency in performing growth-monitoring procedures leads to faulty interpretation of children’s growth patterns, resulting in unreliable statistics and inaccurate information being forwarded to policy makers. The aim was to evaluate the growth monitoring procedures for children under the age of five in the Mopani District using the Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) protocol. The study took place in the Mopani District situated in Limpopo Province. The study was descriptive and observational and used quantitative techniques. Twenty-four (23.5%) clinics were randomly selected from 85 clinics in the study area. The researcher observed and recorded growth monitoring and other child health procedures used by health workers at the primary health care (PHC) clinics on the day of the visit, using an observation checklist. One of the health workers involved in the services for the under-five on the day was interviewed. Basic equipment needed for growth monitoring at PHC clinics was available and health workers knew exactly what was expected from them when implementing the IMCI protocol. There was inconsistencies in conducting anthropometric measurements. Recording the information of the weight on the Road-to-Health charts was done erroneously. In conclusion norms and standards as set out in the IMCI protocol are clear and the majority of health workers, had the necessary skills to conduct growth monitoring. The study recommends training of health workers on the completion of Road-to-Health charts.