Child development surveillance and child booklet: barriers and potential from the perspective of primary health care professionals and managers
1
Department of Maternal-Infant and Public Health Nursing, University of Sao Paulo, Ribeirao Preto-SP, Brazil
2
Graduate Program Public Health Nursing, Ribeirao Preto-SP, Brazil
3
School of Public Health, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo-SP, Brazil
4
Child Health Coordination of the Ministry of Health, Brasilia-DF, Brazil
5
Brazilian Center for Early Child Development, Sao Paulo-SP, Brazil
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):A1714
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Child development surveillance contributes to observing, evaluating, and recording early childhood information, facilitating shared decision-making with caregivers (1). The child booklet is a valuable tool for guidance and recording to promote healthy development; however, it remains underutilized (2). This study aimed to analyze the barriers and potential for child development surveillance and the child booklet usage from the perspective of primary health care professionals and managers.
METHODS:
A qualitative study was conducted in two Brazilian municipalities, involving six focus groups with 52 participants (36 frontline health professionals and 16 health managers). Data were processed using Atlas.ti® software and subjected to inductive thematic analysis.
RESULTS:
The analysis revealed themes regarding conceptions and perceptions about child development surveillance, the booklet’s content, organizational barriers in primary health care units, gaps in professional qualification, low caregivers adherence, and strategies to modify practices. The use of the booklet as a central monitoring tool faces restrictions during consultations conducted by doctors or nurses, often being limited to vaccination records, which compromises data quality and care continuity. While team availability, management priority, and permanent health education are viewed as essential, they depend on institutional arrangements to improve childcare, increase parental caregivers’ participation, and sustain child development surveillance.
CONCLUSIONS:
Although participants recognized the relevance of child development surveillance and the booklet’s rich information, obstacles stood out, suggesting whether the barriers are becoming normalized, with recurring, stagnant, and unresolved problems. Realizing the potential of child development surveillance requires reviewing healthcare routines to prevent knowledge loss among professionals, improving record quality, increasing active communication with caregivers, and strengthening network integration to ensure equitable pathways in early childhood.
Child development surveillance contributes to observing, evaluating, and recording early childhood information, facilitating shared decision-making with caregivers (1). The child booklet is a valuable tool for guidance and recording to promote healthy development; however, it remains underutilized (2). This study aimed to analyze the barriers and potential for child development surveillance and the child booklet usage from the perspective of primary health care professionals and managers.
METHODS:
A qualitative study was conducted in two Brazilian municipalities, involving six focus groups with 52 participants (36 frontline health professionals and 16 health managers). Data were processed using Atlas.ti® software and subjected to inductive thematic analysis.
RESULTS:
The analysis revealed themes regarding conceptions and perceptions about child development surveillance, the booklet’s content, organizational barriers in primary health care units, gaps in professional qualification, low caregivers adherence, and strategies to modify practices. The use of the booklet as a central monitoring tool faces restrictions during consultations conducted by doctors or nurses, often being limited to vaccination records, which compromises data quality and care continuity. While team availability, management priority, and permanent health education are viewed as essential, they depend on institutional arrangements to improve childcare, increase parental caregivers’ participation, and sustain child development surveillance.
CONCLUSIONS:
Although participants recognized the relevance of child development surveillance and the booklet’s rich information, obstacles stood out, suggesting whether the barriers are becoming normalized, with recurring, stagnant, and unresolved problems. Realizing the potential of child development surveillance requires reviewing healthcare routines to prevent knowledge loss among professionals, improving record quality, increasing active communication with caregivers, and strengthening network integration to ensure equitable pathways in early childhood.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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