Impact of educational status of Anganwadi worker on their knowledge and practice regarding integrated management of childhood illness

Abstract

Background: Today, integrated child development services (ICDS) represents one of the world’s largest programs for early childhood development. Most of the evaluation study concentrated on the nutritional and health status of the beneficiaries of ICDS. Less focus has been shifted over to assess the knowledge and awareness among Anganwadi worker (AWW) regarding various health-care services provided by them, who are actually the main resource person. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to study the educational qualification of AWWs and to assess the knowledge and practice of AWWs regarding various components of implementation of Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMNCI) and correlate them with their educational status. Materials and Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional study conducted in five Talukas of Surendranagar district from August 2012 to January 2013. Sample size included all AWWs of five Talukas of Surendranagar district those who had received basic IMNCI training. Of 833 AWWs, 774 were interviewed. Results: The analysis shows that majority of AWWs were educated up to secondary level (49.49%). 57.4% of AWWs were able to correctly answer about the aims of IMNCI training. Study findings suggest that majority of AWWs having good knowledge about breastfeeding and pneumonia, while their practice related to health-care services regarding IMNCI was found satisfactory. Conclusion: As the AWWs are the key person in the program, her education level and knowledge regarding various health-care services play an important role related to her performance. In addition, the refresher training about IMNCI plays a valuable role in improving their performance.