An audit of completeness of Road to Health Booklet at a community health centre in South Africa

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.