FUNCTIONAL DEPENDENCE AMONG PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC LIVER DISEASE

Abstract

The aim of the study was to assess the functional dependence among patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) attending a tertiary care Hospital, Kottayam. A quantitative research approach was used for the study. The research design selected for the study was non experimental descriptive survey design. A total of 175 patients, who were diagnosed to have CLD admitted in medical wards and attending the outpatient departments of Medicine and Gastroenterology at Government Medical College Hospital, Kottayam were selected for the study by using non probability purposive sampling technique. Sociopersonal and clinical data sheet was used for collecting basic information about the subjects and functional dependence rating scale was used for assessing functional dependence among patients with CLD. The data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings of the study revealed that 32% of the patients with CLD were totally dependent, 31.4% of patients were partially dependent and 36.6 % of patients were functionally independent