Patterns And Quality Of Long Term Care For The Bedridden Patients In Chandigarh, North India

Abstract

Objective: To ascertain the quality and pattern of home based long-term care for the adult bedridden patients in Chandigarh, India. Methods: This is a cross sectional study conducted during the calendar year 2004 and included 100 bedridden patients. The patients were enlisted through various sources. Their degree of disability was assessed using the Katz index of the activities of daily living. An interview schedule based on Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique (CHART) was used to assess the provision of care to the bedridden patients. Patients and families were interviewed about the patterns and quality of care. Results: Mean age of subjects was 69 years. Sixty-eight patients lived in joint families. All subjects had total dependence in the domains of bathing, dressing, toileting and transfer. Most common cause of disability was neurological diseases. Predominantly, female family members were caring for the patients. Hired helps were also used by 54 % of the cases. Fifty-nine patients were consulting government hospitals for most part of the health care. In 35% cases unqualified practitioners were also consulted. Most patients (78) were given medicines on time and the physicians' advice for them was followed. Though the rates of complications like urinary tract infections (39%), pressure ulcers (54%) were quite high, 57% patients reported satisfaction with the quality of care they were receiving. Conclusion: Bedridden people have high rates of medical complications. There is a need for formal training for the caregivers as almost of them were untrained.