Factors associated with child health service delivery by female community health volunteers in Nepal: Findings from a national survey

Abstract

Background Nepal has made a significant improvement in child survival in the last few decades and the involvement of female community health volunteers (FCHVs) has been crucial in such achievement. While there have been a lot of documented studies and reports, rarely has been explored the status and factors associated with the child health service provided by these volunteers. This study aimed to measure the child health service delivery status by FCHVs and its associated factors. Methods A national survey was conducted in 2014 in Nepal that included 4,302 FCHVs using the structured questionnaire across the 13 geopolitical domains of the country. The data was extracted and the association of child health services with characteristics was examined using Chi-square test (χ2) followed by logistic regression. Results Two out of three FCHVs provided at least one child health service. Those FCHVs who utilized money from the FCHV fund, conducted mothers’ group meeting, involved in the local committees and those who supported in antenatal care related activities were more likely to provide child health services. Similarly, FCHVs having the stock of cotrimoxazole tablet, Zinc tablet, oral rehydration salt were also more likely to provide child health services. Province wise analysis showed that FCHVs from Province 5 and Province 7 were more likely to provide child health services compared to their counterparts from province 1. Conclusions FCHVs are an important human resource in providing child health services in Nepal. To improve child health service delivery by FCHVs, availability of the key commodities, the involvement of FCHVs in regular health mothers’ group meeting, use of mobile phone, involvement in other health programs and social networks, and utilization of fund need to be taken into consideration.