Abstract
BACKGROUND: Child growth monitoring and promotion give caregivers the knowledge and tools they need to track their children's growth. The Road-to-Health Booklet (RtHB) is used to record the child's health and development during clinic visits. AIM: The aim of this study is to explore caregivers' use of the RtHB in selected villages within Thulamela Municipality. SETTING: The study was conducted in selected villages within Thulamela Municipality. METHODS: A qualitative descriptive exploratory study was conducted using a semi-structured interview guide to gain insights into caregivers' experiences with the RtHB. Purposive sampling was used to select 28 caregivers of children under 5 years of age for this research. In-depth interviews were conducted to gather comprehensive data, which were recorded through field notes and an audio recorder. Thematic content analysis was employed to analyse the collected data. RESULTS: Findings revealed that caregivers perceive the RtHB as a critical tool provided after delivery for maintaining records of their children's health status, growth and immunisation history. Some caregivers indicated that some of the information should be excluded from the Booklet because they believe information such as HIV status is confidential. CONCLUSION: In Thulamela municipality, caregivers demonstrated a clear understanding of the RtHB, including its purpose, appropriate usage and benefits. However, some expressed concern about the inclusion of HIV status in the Booklet. There is a need for the Department of Health to come up with strategies to keep confidential information such as HIV status through the use of code on the Booklet. CONTRIBUTION: The results may contribute to the body of literature related to the caregivers' use of the RtHB.