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| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2018 | Volume
: 13
| Issue : 4 | Page : 168-170 |
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Knowledge of Anganwadi worker with respect to early childhood development
Shashank Gotarkar, Abhishek Ingole
Department of Community Medicine, J.N. Medical College, Wardha, Maharashtra, India
| Date of Web Publication | 16-Apr-2019 |
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Abhishek Ingole
Department of Community Medicine, J.N. Medical College, Sawangi (M), Wardha, Maharashtra
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/jdmimsu.jdmimsu_92_17
Background: Being world's largest outreach program targeting infants & children below six years of age, expectants & nursing mothers, ICDS has generated interest worldwide amongst academician, planners, policy makers, administrators & those responsible for implementation. Consequently, many research studies have been conducted to evaluate & assess impact of program. The need for revitalization of ICDS has already been recommended toward better maternal and child health especially in rural areas. Inspite of repeated measures to enhance effectivity of ICDS program, impact is not observed as desired by policy makers or administrators. And hence knowledge of AWWs regarding ICDS program can be assessed & evaluated so that some of attributable reasons may be pointed out. Hence present study was undertaken to find out knowledge of AWW. Aim & Objectives: The AIM is to find out knowledge of Anganwadi Workers under ICDS with regards to ECD. Materials and Methods: This was a community based Cross-Sectional study, carried out at Seloo block of Wardha district, having total under five population approx. 7634. Study participants included 167 AWWs were included in the study. The study period was one year. Data were double entered and analysed in Microsoft excel (2007). The quantitative data was presented as proportion or mean with SD. Chi square test of significance was used wherever appropriate. Results: Shows that maximum no. of AWW (37.72%) were non matriculate. AWW with SSC and HSC qualification were 22.76% & 29.34% respectively. 64% AWW were Trained workers, 19% AWW received revised training while 17% were untrained workers. Conclusions: AWWs are actually the main resource person of the program and whose knowledge and skills do have a direct impact on the implementation of the programme. As the Anganwadi Workers play an important role due to their close and continuous contact with the people of community, especially the children and women, so there is an utmost need to assess their knowledge and the level of awareness regarding services provided by them in Anganwadi Centres.
Keywords: Anganwadi workers, integrated child development scheme, rural area
How to cite this article:
Gotarkar S, Ingole A. Knowledge of Anganwadi worker with respect to early childhood development. J Datta Meghe Inst Med Sci Univ 2018;13:168-70 |
| Introduction | |  |
Early childhood (0–6 years) is the most crucial period in life of a child; it is during this period that the foundations are laid for the cognitive, social, emotional, and physical/mental development of the child. It is now globally acknowledged that investment in human resource development is a prerequisite for any nation's economic development. In India, integrated child development scheme (ICDS) is currently the most significant government intervention for reducing maternal and childhood malnutrition.[1] The importance of a program like ICDS lies in some facts as the child population of India. India is home to the largest child population in the world as 158.7 million children in the 0–6 years of age group (Census 2011). Being the world's largest outreach program targeting infants and children below 6 years of age, expectants, and nursing mothers, ICDS has generated interest worldwide among academician, planners, policy-makers, administrators, and those responsible for implementation. Consequently, many research studies have been conducted to evaluate and assess the impact of program. The National Family Health Survey-3 (2005–2006) reveals that about 43% of children below 5 years in the country were still underweight (as per the WHO New Growth Standards <−2 standard deviation [SD]), and out of these, about 16% were severely malnourished (<−3SD). The survey also revealed that, countrywide, although 81.1% of children under age 6 years were covered by anganwadi centers (AWCs), children who received any service from AWC were only 28.4% (21). The need for revitalization of ICDS has already been recommended toward better maternal and child health, especially in rural areas.[2]
Success of any program depends on proper planning and its effective implementation which mainly revolve around the anganwadi worker (AWW) and the AWC itself, a factor that assumes a pivotal place in the scheme of things due to its close and continuous proximity to the beneficiaries. In spite of repeated measures to enhance the effectivity of the ICDS program, the impact is not observed as desired by the policy-makers or administrators. And hence, we thought that knowledge or the perception of AWWs regarding ICDS program can be assessed and evaluated so that some of the attributable reasons may be pointed out.
Aim
Study knowledge regarding early childhood development (ECD) among AWWs under ICDS from Seloo block of Wardha district.
Objectives
To find out knowledge of AWWs under ICDS with regard to ECD.
| Materials and Methods | | |
Study design
The study was a community-based cross-sectional study.
Study setting
The study was carried out at Seloo block of Wardha district.
Study participants and sample size
The study participants included in the study were 30 AWWs under ICDS in Seloo block of Wardha district. AWWs not willing to participate were excluded from the study.
Study duration
The study period was 2½ years (i.e., from May 2015 to October 2017).
Ethical approval
The study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Sawangi (M).
Study tool
A structured questionnaire was prepared to study knowledge and perception of AWWs.
| Observations and Results | | |
[Table 1] shows that majority of AWWs are in the age group of 18–45 years, i.e., 55.09%. This was followed by 46–59 years of age comprising 40.72% and 60 years and above with only 4.19%.
Mean age group (± SD) was 38.53 ± 7.28 (26–63 years).
[Table 2] shows that maximum numbers of AWWs, i.e., 37.72% were nonmatriculates. AWWs with SSC and HSC qualification were 22.76% and 29.34%, respectively. The least number was found for graduate AWWs as 10.18% only.
[Table 3] shows that 50.30% of AWWs had experience >10 years; 47.90% had experience between 6 and 10 years, and only 1.80% had experience <5 years.
[Figure 1] shows that 64% (106 AWWs) were trained workers (either induction training or job training) and 19% (32 AWWs) got revised training while 17% (29 AWWs) were untrained workers.
| Discussion | | |
This was the report of 2011 where most of the problems related to ICDS along with AWWs were narrated. However, the situation does not change too much till date. Recently, the strike was called by AWWs in September 2017 for their various demands including salary hike and for many other demands (74). This shows that there are still many associated malfunctions related with the effectivity of this ICDS program.
Knowledge, being the basis of any program, is one of the important attributes for successful implementation and/or attainment of desired outcome of the program. Hence, the proposed study was undertaken to find out the knowledge and perceptions regarding ECD among AWWs under ICDS from Seloo block of Wardha District.
We analyzed individual AWW with regard to knowledge. It was surprising that 80% knowledge, in various domains examined, was found in between 49% and 70% of AWWs only. Regarding social and emotional development, only 82 (49.10%) had 80% knowledge in that domain. We considered 80% knowledge as acceptable one because this program is implemented since four decades; hence, somewhat higher percentage of knowledge is required now for its proper implementation. However, we found that not even 70% of AWWs had the acceptable knowledge of ECD/early childhood education under ICDS which is the basic requirement to implement the program.[2],[3],[4],[5],[6],[7],[8],[9],[10]
| Conclusion | | |
Although much of the researches have been done on the nutritional status of the beneficiaries of ICDS, evaluation of nutrition and health services rendered by AWCs, very less focus has been shifted over to knowledge and awareness among the AWWs for early childhood caries or ECD. AWWs are actually the main resource person of the program and whose knowledge and skills do have a direct impact on the implementation of the program. As the AWWs play an important role due to their close and continuous contact with the people of community, especially the children and women, so there is an utmost need to assess their knowledge and the level of awareness regarding services provided by them in AWCs.
Recommendations
- The present study strongly felt the need of improving the quality of knowledge and awareness among AWWs about various services provided for ECD under ICDS program
- There is a strong and intense need for improving the training quality provided to AWWs to enhance their knowledge regarding ICDS program with reference to ECD.
Limitations
The questions asked in various domains were limited as the total number of questions asked was 31, which took around 25–30 min to answer. Hence, we found constrained in justifying the results of each domain.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
| References | | |
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| 2. | Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme. New Delhi: Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India. Available from: http://www.wcd.nic.in/icds.htm. [Last accessed on 2016 Apr 15]. |
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| 6. | Claeson M, Bos ER, Mawji T, Pathmanathan I. Reducing child mortality in India in the new millennium. Bull World Health Organ 2000;78:1192-9. |
| 7. | National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development. Research on ICDS: An Overview (1996-2008). Vol. 3. New Delhi: National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development; 2009. |
| 8. | Vashishtha VM. Status of immunization and need for intensification of routine immunization in India. Indian Pediatr 2012;49:357-61. |
| 9. | Registrar General of India. Maternal & Child Mortality and Total Fertility Rates Sample Registration System (SRS). India: Office of Registrar General; 2012. |
| 10. | Programme Evaluation Organization, Planning Commission, Government of India. Evaluation study on Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS). Report no. PEO 218. Vol. 1. New Delhi: Programme Evaluation Organization, Planning Commission, Government of India; March, 2011. |
[Figure 1]
[Table 1], [Table 2], [Table 3], [Table 4]
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