Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the factors associated with mothers reading the Child Health Handbook (CHH) and health professionals completing this instrument, in Feira de Santana, Bahia, 2009. This is a cross-sectional study with the application of 727 forms to mothers of children under one year of age. The outcomes studied were mother reading the CHH and health professionals completing weight and height measures. We performed a logistic regression analysis with p ≤ 0.05. The prevalence of reading, weight and height were, respectively, 81.1%, 68.9% and 47.3%. Mothers with a higher level of education had a greater chance of reading the CHH. Recording weight and height was more prevalent in mothers who were under 35 years of age. Performing childcare in areas of the Family Health Program or the Community Health Workers was positively associated with the height's record, despite the low prevalence of records. Child age greater than six months was positively associated with all outcomes. It demonstrated the underutilization of CHH by mothers and health professionals, which indicates the need for training of health professionals and guidance to mothers on the importance and management of this issue.
Highlights
Material and methodsOne of the targets of the sustainable development goals is to reduce child mortality worldwide[1]
The characteristics of mothers and children associated with reading the Child Health Handbook (CHH) were mothers’ schooling equal to or higher than secondary school level (p = 0.000), the child being older than six months (p = 0.001) and childcare in private service (p = 0.023) (Table 2)
This study, through an investigation of CHH reading and completion in 2009 allowed us to conclude that, despite the undoubted quality of information incorporated in the document in recent decades, this was not accompanied by a significant increase in quality in its handling in the municipality, as it was noted that prevalence was lower than that required for mothers reading the document, and health professionals recording weights and heights
Summary
Material and methodsOne of the targets of the sustainable development goals is to reduce child mortality worldwide[1]. In 2007, an important milestone was the replacement of old curves with new curves developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), a chart that technically provides a better description of children’s physical development[5,6]. This version included information relevant to the family and health professionals concerning the care of children from zero to 10 years of age, such as oral, visual and hearing health, promotion of healthy eating and prevention of accidents[6]
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