Mother and child protection card as a resource tool for health care providers on VHND sessions: Providers’ views in rural area of Valsad district in south Gujarat, India

BACKGROUND: The Mother and Child Protection card (MCP card) is used for tracking of each child right from conception till 3 years of age by community health workers. It is a rich source of information for HCPs about mother and child health. A well-versed health care provider (HCP) can deliver the services efficiently to the beneficiaries. OBJECTIVES: To assess knowledge of HCPs about information provided in the MCP card. METHODOLOGY: It was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out in the rural area of Valsad. Nineteen HCPS were interviewed on VHND sessions for their knowledge about health information provided in MCP card. RESULTS: Mean age of HCPs was 38.11 years with mean 9.3 years of work experience. Of these 94.7% were providing the MCP card while registering the beneficiary. Around 78.9% knew growth chart, 68.4% knew vaccination information and nearly half were aware about the various government schemes. About 36.84% could mention five cleans of safe delivery at home. CONCLUSION: HCPs were aware about vaccination, antenatal care, growth chart but their knowledge about five cleans of home delivery and postnatal care needs to be improved.