Abstract

Background: An Anganwadi worker (AWW), a lady selected from the local community, is a community-based frontline honorary worker of the Integrated Child Development Services program. Their understanding, communication skills, and approach are needed to implement the grand projects of the state and central governments, making them the most vital link in delivering the “health for all” mission. Objectives: The study aims to know about current level of knowledge among AWW regarding essential grassroot level health services provided in Anganwadi with the objectives to assess the level of knowledge among AWWs regarding basic maternal care services as well as basic child care services at Anganwadi level. Material and Methods: This study was a community-based cross-sectional observational study conducted in urban area. Data collection was carried out by preformed, prestructured, and pretested questionnaire by interview method individually. All 344 AWWs were interviewed for knowledge testing. Each AWW was contacted through monthly meetings. Scoring system was used for knowledge testing. The data was analyzed statistically using 2 percentages and χ -test.
Results: Maximum AWWs (43.31%) found to have average knowledge score. Significant association was found between educational status of AWWs and knowledge scores, between years of experience and knowledge scores, and between age of AWWs and knowledge scores. Conclusion: Continuous education in the form of refresher training (in-service) should be on regular basis for updating the knowledge of AWWs.