A study to assess the knowledge and skills of accredited social health activists in home based newborn care
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20250623Keywords:
ASHAs, Challenges, HBNC, Practices, ProblemsAbstract
Background: Home Based Newborn Care (HBNC) is a community-based approach adopted by the Government of India (GoI) to decrease the neonatal and maternal mortality rate through a series of home visits provided by Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs). Therefore, ASHAs adequate knowledge and skills regarding HBNC are crucial to bring positive health outcomes. The study aimed to assess the knowledge and skills of ASHAs in HBNC and the challenges faced during its implementation.
Methods: A study was conducted in CHC Mendhasala of Khordha District from October 2021 to March 2022. ASHAs trained for HBNC, having HBNC visits during the research period, and willing to participate in the study were included in the sampling frame. Consecutively 50 ASHAs were taken for conducting the study in CHC Mendhasala. Participants were assessed for knowledge regarding HBNC and the problems faced during its implementation. Skills were observed during the scheduled day of home visits.
Results: Eighty-two percent of ASHAs had an average level of knowledge regarding HBNC. Domain-wise ASHAs had good knowledge of the HBNC concept, breastfeeding, immunization, and family planning while less knowledge of high-risk newborns and referral services. The majority of ASHAs had performed newborn care and examined the mother during home visits. Personal, social, and administrative challenges affect the implementation of HBNC services.
Conclusions: The majority of ASHAs had good knowledge and skills regarding HBNC but need to strengthen more on high-risk newborn and referral services domains. Besides this ASHAs face several challenges while implementing HBNC services.
Metrics
References
National health Mission. Operational guidelines on the School Health Programme under Ayushman Bharat. Available at:
https://www.nhm.gov.in/New_updates_2018/NHM_Components/RMNCHA/AH/guidelines/Operational_guidelines_on_School_Health_Programme_under_Ayushman_Bharat.pdf. Accessed 1 January 2022.
Namnabati M, Mohammadizadeh M, Sardari S. The effect of home-based phototherapy on parental stress in mothers of infants with neonatal jaundice. J Neonat Nurs. 2019;25(1):37-40. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnn.2018.09.001
UNICEF. Neonatal mortality-UNICEF data. Available at: https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-survival/neonatal-mortality/. Accessed 28 April 2022.
Census of India. SRS Bulletin 2019. Available at: http://www.censusindia.gov.in/vital_statistics/SRS_Bulletins/Bulletins.html. Accessed 21 April 2022.
Lassi ZS, Majeed A, Rashid S, Yakoob MY, Bhutta ZA. The interconnections between maternal and newborn health-evidence and implications for policy. J Mater-Fetal Neonat Medi. 2013;26(sup1):3-53. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3109/14767058.2013.784737
Bhandari N, Mazumder S, Taneja S, Sommerfelt H, Strand TA. Effect of implementation of Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illness (IMNCI) programme on neonatal and infant mortality: cluster randomised controlled trial. Bmj. 2012;344. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.e1634
Choudhary ML, Joshi P, Murry L, Malhotra S, Shankar J. Knowledge and skills of accredited social health activists in home based new-born care in a rural community of Northern India: an evaluative survey. Int J Commu Med Publ Heal. 2021;8(1):334-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20205718
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Government of India, Nirman Bhavan, New Delhi. Home Based Newborn Care: Operational Guidelines, 2014. Available at: https://nhsrcindia.org/sites/default/files/2021-03/Revised%20HBNC%20Operational%20Guidelines%202014%20English.pdf. Accessed 01 December 2024.
National Health Mission. About ASHA‑Government of India, 2016. Available at: https://nhm.gov.in/index1.php?lang=1&level=1&sublinkid=150&lid=226#:~:text=ASHA%20will%20mobilise%20the%20community,being%20provided%20by%20the%20government. Accessed 6 January 2022.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. Annual Report 2013-2014. Available at: http://nrhm.gov.in/images/pdf/media/publication/Annual_Report-Mohfw.pdf. Accessed 28 April 2022.
Pandit SB, Boricha BG, Mhaske A. To assess the knowledge & practices regarding home based newborn care among accredited social health activist (ASHA) in rural area. Int J Health Sci Res. 2016;6(12):205-9.
Bansal SC, Nimbalkar SM, Shah NA, Shrivastav RS, Phatak AG. Evaluation of knowledge and skills of home based newborn care among Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA). Ind Pediatr. 2016;53(8):689-91. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13312-016-0911-3
Meena S, Rathore M, Kumawat P, Singh A. Challenges Faced by ASHAs during their field works: a cross sectional observational study in Rural Area of Jaipur, Rajasthan. Int J Med Publ Health. 2020;10(3):97-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5530/ijmedph.2020.3.20
Kohli C, Kishore J, Sharma S, Nayak H. Knowledge and practice of Accredited Social Health Activists for maternal healthcare delivery in Delhi. J Family Med Prim Care. 2015;4(3):359-63. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/2249-4863.161317
Singh G. Demand, Awareness and Implementation Gap of Home Based Newborn Care in Rural Area of Meerut, UP.
Rairker A, Singh R, Kapoor G, SV V. A study to assess knowledge, practices of ASHA and factors influencing provision of HBNC in Bahadurpur block of Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. Ind J Appl Res. 2019;9(6).
Dagar N, Bhardwaj U, Bansal P. The Problems Faced by ASHAs (Accredited Social Health Activist)-A Qualitative Study. JoNSP. 2017;7:25-30.
Pathak PK, Singh JV, Agarwal M, Singh VK, Tripathi SK. Study to assess the home-based newborn care (HBNC) visit in rural area of Lucknow: A cross-sectional study. J Fam Med Prim Care. 2021;10(4):1673-7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_911_20
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
