Empowering Posyandu Cadres Through Digital Anticipatory Guidance for Responsive Parenting Education

Abstract

Background: Posyandu cadres play an important role in connecting community health services with families, yet their capacity to provide structured education on maternal sensitivity and responsive caregiving remains limited. Digital resources may strengthen cadre-led education by providing accessible and reusable guidance for supporting infant growth and development.

Objective: This community engagement program aimed to strengthen Posyandu cadres’ skills in maternal sensitivity, responsive caregiving, child growth and development, and the use of digital anticipatory guidance for parenting education.

Methods: A participatory community empowerment approach was implemented over 16 weeks in Cibodas Village, Solokanjeruk District, Bandung Regency, Indonesia. The program involved five sequential stages: program orientation, cadre training, digital technology implementation, mentoring and evaluation, and sustainability planning. Thirty Posyandu cadres participated in interactive training, case simulations, demonstrations, and hands-on practice using the Child Cognitive Stimulation Application. Cadre skills were assessed before and after training using a program-specific instrument comprising 14 skill indicators. Outcomes were analyzed descriptively by comparing pre- and post-training scores.

Results: The mean cadre skill score increased from 3.37 before training to 12.87 after training, representing an increase of 9.50 points. Pre-training scores ranged from 1 to 5, whereas post-training scores ranged from 12 to 14. All 30 participants achieved higher post-training scores, exceeding the program target of improvement among at least 80% of cadres. The digital application was successfully introduced and practiced as a supporting resource for parenting education. Evaluation of mothers’ parenting outcomes, routine application use, and longer-term program sustainability remained ongoing.

Conclusion: Digital anticipatory guidance training was associated with a substantial descriptive improvement in Posyandu cadres’ skills and achieved the predefined program target. Integrating cadre capacity building with digital educational resources offers a promising approach to strengthening community-based parenting education. Further evaluation is needed to determine its sustained implementation and outcomes among mothers.