Peer-reviewed article
An audit of completeness of Road to Health Booklet at a community health centre in South Africa.
Machimana P, Nyalunga SLN, Madela-Mntla EN, Nzaumvila DK ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study audited how completely healthcare workers filled out Road to Health Booklets for children under 5 years old at a community health centre in South Africa. The booklet is a key record for tracking a child's health, growth, vaccinations and development. The researchers found that overall only 40% of the booklets were completely filled out, with some sections like developmental screening and oral health rarely recorded. The study highlights that incomplete records may affect the quality of care children receive.
Key points
- Overall completeness of Road to Health Booklets was only 40.3%, with no section 100% fully completed
- Immunisations, weight-for-age, neonatal information, and family/child details were completed in 80% of booklets
- Developmental screening was completed in only 17.2% of booklets and oral health in just 1.6%
- HIV testing status was not recorded for 49.4% of children, and 60.5% had no HIV test result recorded at 6 weeks
- Healthcare practitioners need to complete booklets in full to improve continuity and quality of care
Limitations
This is a single-site audit at one community health centre, so findings may not represent all health facilities in South Africa. The study does not examine the consequences of incomplete records on actual child health outcomes.
Abstract
Background For continuity and quality of care, accurate record-keeping is crucial. Complete care is facilitated by completing a child's Road to Health Booklet (RTHB) as well as prompt interpretation and appropriate action. This could result in a decrease in child morbidity and mortality. Aim The study was aimed at assessing the completeness of the RTHB of children younger than 5 years. Setting Temba Community Health Centre (CHC), Tshwane District, South Africa. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted using a data collection sheet adopted from previous studies. Results Children less than 1-year-old accounted for 70.2% of the 255 RTHBs. The mean ± s.d. age was 11.5 ±10.76 months. The study finding showed no section was 100% fully completed. Of the 255 records studied, 38 (14.9%) human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-exposed babies were recorded at birth, 39.5% were negative at 6 weeks and 60.5% were not recorded. Ninety-one (35.7%) children were unexposed. The HIV status of 126 (49.4%) children was not recorded. Sixty-six per cent (66%) of recorded maternal syphilis was negative. Immunisations, weight-for-age, neonatal information, and details of the family and child were fully completed in 80% of the booklets. Developmental screening was 17.2% completed, and oral health was 1.6% partially completed. The overall completeness was 40.3%. Conclusion The completeness of RTHBs was found to be suboptimal.Contribution: The present study's findings should serve as a reminder that healthcare practitioners must complete RTHBs in their totality in order to improve continuity and care quality, as the results indicated that RTHB completion was below ideal.