Determinants of monthly reporting by village health volunteers in a poor rural district of Lao PDR

Village health volunteers (VHV) are community members trained as lay health workers. They are engaged in a variety of health care programs in which they are often required to make regular reports to their supervisors, including community-based surveillance data. The objective of this study was to identify factors influencing monthly reporting activities among VHV in a remote area of Lao PDR. Data were collected through structured interviews with VHV in November 2008. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess associations between completion of monthly reporting and socio-demographic and economic factors and VHV-related factors, such as training, experience, type of main job, and satisfaction with incentives. Of the 137 VHVs from 97 villages interviewed, 39.4% stated they submitted their monthly report at least once over the past three months. Most frequently mentioned reasons for not reporting were "no money to visit health center", "no time to visit health center", and the "health center is located too far". Logistic regression analysis showed failure to report was associated with longer distances between the VHV village and the responsible health center, lower levels of education, fewer training sessions attended by the VHV, and the type of main job of the VHV. Although most VHVs owned vehicles and were given financial support for travel, difficulty traveling to the responsible health center remains the leading cause for failure to report.