Assessment of immunization and growth monitoring services provided during outreach sessions in selected urban health centers of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

Abstract

Background: Immunization is the great investment as it is a cost effective and successful health intervention, which prevents suffering through sickness, disability and death.The present study was conducted with an objective to assess the effectiveness of Immunization and Growth Monitoring Services delivered during Outreach Sessions.Methods: A cross-sectional observational study design was used, with one UHC randomly selected from each of seven zones. Two outreach sessions per UHC were purposively sampled. Data was collected using a pretested proforma and analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2019.Results: It was found that 8(57.14%) sites were not having separate area for vaccination. Shakir tape was not available at 10(71.42%) of sites. Overall Cold chain maintenance was satisfactory at all sites. At some sites, Vaccinators were not writing time of reconstitution on BCG &Measles Vials (21.43%), not giving 4 key messages (71.42%), were not informing about other services (78.57%), were not asking beneficiaries to wait for half hour after vaccination (71.42%) and were not knowing Open Vial Policy (35.71%). Growth chart Plotting was satisfactory in 75% ofsessions, only 64 % of them knew how to interpretate it. Conclusion: The vaccine, logistics, and cold chain maintenance were deemed satisfactory. However, despite accurate weighing of children, a subset of Healthcare Providers (HCPs) experienced challenges in accurately plotting and interpreting growth charts. While immunization quality was consistently high across all centers, opportunities for improvement and refinement were identified. To address these gaps, periodic training sessions for HCPs are recommended, focusing on immunization techniques, growth chart plotting, and interpretation to enhance their skills. Key words: Growth monitoring, Outreach sessions, Routine immunization