Strategies to improve the performance of female health workers in West Bengal: A cross-sectional survey.
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Date
2010-05
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Abstract
Background. Female health workers in India face an
increasing workload that affects their performance. We did a
study in 2 districts of West Bengal, India, to quantify their
workload and identify determinants of good performance.
Methods. We randomly sampled female health workers
from the health department’s list. First, we quantified the time
allocated to tasks through observations of work sessions.
Second, we estimated the prevalence ratio (PR) of aboveaverage
performance for three indicators (DPT-booster
coverage, antenatal check-up coverage and family planning
performance) according to selected potential determinants.
Results. Female health workers spent 26% of their time
in documentation. We recruited 42 female health workers
(average population covered: 6495). Larger floor space (PR
2.5; 95% CI 1.2–5.3), use of simplified documentation
procedures (PR 2.5; 95% CI 1.2–5.2) and monthly
supervision (PR 3.0; 95% CI 1.1–8.5) were associated with
above-average DPT-booster coverage. Availability of a private
space was associated with above-average coverage in antenatal
check-up (PR 1.9; 95% CI 1.0–3.5) and family planning (PR
2.5; 95% CI 1.2–5.2). Workers who used existing resources
to cope with multi-tasking performed better.
Conclusion. Female health workers spent excessive time
in documentation which left less time for service delivery.
Infrastructure, planning and supervision affected performance and these areas must be strengthened to improve primary healthcare services.
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Maji Dipankar, Hutin Yvan, Ramakrishnan R, Hossain Shah, De Sobhan. Strategies to improve the performance of female health workers in West Bengal: A cross-sectional survey. National Medical Journal of India. 2010 May-Jun; 23(3): 137-142.