Effectiveness of educational programe on knowledge of care givers regarding domicilary care of patients with severe mental disorder

Background: The family of mentally ill clients carry a heavy burden because they are involved in providing informal care to these patients at home. Need for the Study :An increase in the knowledge level of family members can help a great deal in providing better domiciliary care and there by reducing the rate of relapse and admission to the hospital. Methodology: A quasi experimental one group pre testpost test design was used in the study. The sample comprised of 40 caregivers of patients with severe mental disorders admitted in the psychiatry ward of AIMS, Kochi, selected by using convenience sampling technique. The knowledge of care givers regarding domiciliary care of patients with severe mental disorder was assessed before and after the implementation of education programme which constituted 2 sessions each of 45 minutes duration. The data was collected using knowledge assessment questionnaire by means of structured interview schedule. Knowledge was reassessed seven days after the intervention. Results: Application ofpaired t test revealed a statistically significant increase in the knowledge of the study subjects regarding the domiciliary care of patients with severe mental disorder after the implementation of the education programme (t= 18.23,df=39, p< 0.001). There was significant increase in the knowledge of each of the components of domiciliary care also. The maximum knowledge was seen in the area of communication and healthy family environment in the pre test, but in the post-test, maximum score is for the component, medication compliance. No association was found between pre-test and post test knowledge and sociodemographic variables. (2(1)=3.84,2(2)= 5.99,p>0.05). Conclusion: Based on the study findings, it was concluded that the education programme was effective in improving the knowledge level of caregivers regarding the domiciliary care of patients with severe mental disorder.