Knowledge And Case Management Status On Acute Respiratory Infection Among Female Community Health Volunteers Of Kaski District-Nepal

In Nepal, female community health volunteers are considered as front-line health service providers in a rejuvenated concept of primary health care by acting as a bridge between the health care delivery system and the community. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in the Kaski District of Nepal with the objective to assess the knowledge and case management status of female community health volunteers on Respiratory Tract Infection. Two hundred FCHVs who completed CB-IMCI training were randomly selected. Ninety-nine percent of FCHVs correctly defined ARI; 38.4% of participants defined ARI’s signs and symptoms correctly. Twentyseven percent of participants identified chest in-drawing as a danger sign of ARI. 96.5% FCHVs knew about the organ affected by ARI and practice of ARI treatment. More than two-thirds of participants knew the respiratory rate cut off point and the Cotrimoxazole dosage for infants and children. Regarding ARI case management practice, 53.32% of FCHVs referred patients to a health facility, and 20.5% recommended home care and treatment. Neither the correct nor wrong responses about knowledge of ARI were significantly associated with education level or years of service. It is concluded that the knowledge that FCHVs have about ARI in general is good, but some components of ARI knowledge are low. Supportive supervision, capacity building training, and commodities management are the factors that have the potential to improve health workers’ motivation for better application of their knowledge and skills. Keywords: Knowledge; FCHV; ARI; Nepal