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ASHA’s involvement in newborn care: A feasibility study

Indian Pediatrics volume 48, pages 897–899 (2011)Cite this article

Abstract

We assessed the feasibility of involvement of Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) in newborn care. All the ASHAs (n = 33) of PHC Dayalpur, Faridabad district of Haryana were trained for one day which was followed by two refresher trainings. The mean (SD) knowledge score (out of 11) of ASHAs were 6.45 (2.44), 6.50 (2.01), 7.45 (1.36) and 7.15 (1.27) at pre-training, immediately after training, and after three and six months, respectively. Four fifth (83%) of the newborns born at home were weighed within 3 days of birth. About half (44%) of ASHAs weighed the neonates within ±250 grams of the weight recorded by the author. We conclude that ASHAs could be involved in providing care for newborn. However, such efforts should ensure a stronger focus on skill development and practical experience.

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Author information

Affiliations

  1. Centre for Community Medicine, Philadelphia, USA

    P. Stalin, Anand Krishnan & Sanjay K. Rai

  2. Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

    Ramesh K. Agarwal

  3. Centre for Community Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, 110 029, India

    Anand Krishnan

Authors
  1. P. Stalin
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  2. Anand Krishnan
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  3. Sanjay K. Rai
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  4. Ramesh K. Agarwal
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Correspondence to Anand Krishnan.

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Stalin, P., Krishnan, A., Rai, S.K. et al. ASHA’s involvement in newborn care: A feasibility study. Indian Pediatr 48, 897–899 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13312-011-0138-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13312-011-0138-2

Key words

  • Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA)
  • Newborn Care
  • Feasibility study
  • India