Conducting a Situational Analysis and Engaging Stakeholders on Home-based Record Availability and Use

Home-based records (HBRs), or child immunization cards, are an important data collection and monitoring tool serving multiple purposes for the caregiver, health worker (HW), and health system. These records can aid health workers in documenting and tracking which vaccines have been given to a child, empower caregivers/parents to play a role in the health of their children and to have documented information on their child’s vaccination history, and serve as public health monitoring tools on vaccination coverage through household and other surveys (with increasing importance, now that more vaccines/antigens are in the system).

Research has found that home-based records are often underutilized or insufficiently used by HWs and caregivers and therefore do not always fulfill their intended purpose as a tracking and reporting tool.

As more vaccines are being incorporated into national EPIs (Expanded Programmes on Immunization) with multiple antigens being given at each contact, this record of which particular antigens an individual has received is increasingly important—both for personal record-keeping as well as for cross-checking during surveys and other monitoring or evaluation visits (notably given potential challenges with parental recall). This document outlines the importance of conducting a situational analysis and the process behind it. JSI, 2018.