Knowledge and Reported Practice of ASHA Workers Regarding Infant Care in Selected PHCs Under Anekal Taluk, Bangalore

Abstract

A descriptive design was used to assess the knowledge and reported practice of ASHA workers regarding infant care including breastfeeding, complementary feeding and immunization. The objectives of the study were to assess knowledge of ASHA workers on infant care, the reported practice of ASHA workers on infant care, determine the correlation between knowledge and reported practice of ASHA workers on infant care, and to find the association between knowledge and reported practice with baseline characteristics. The study was conducted in 11 PHCs under Anekal Taluk. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain the baseline variables and to assess the knowledge, and a checklist was used to assess the reported practice. The findings of the study showed that majority (63.29%) of ASHA workers belong to the age group of 20–30 years, majority of them (93.67%) are married and had education up to eighth standard (70.89%). The findings regarding the knowledge and reported practice on infant care reveal that majority of them had moderate knowledge (86.07%) and average reported practice (94.90%) in this area. There is a positive co-relation present between the knowledge and reported practice scores. However, there is no significant association present between the knowledge and reported practice with baseline variables. The study concluded that ASHA workers had some lacunae in their knowledge and reported practice regarding complementary feeding aspects. Monthly meetings can be a platform for the reinforcement of various aspects of child health.