The Effect of a Program to Encourage Caregivers to Participate in The Care of Elderly Patients with Hip Fractures That Replace Hip Implants in Maharaj Nakhon Si Thammarat Hospital.

Abstract

Background: Thailand has been already an aging society since 2005, and is predicted to become an aged society in 2025. One of the most common problems in the elderly is a hip fracture that usually happened after fall. According to a report, 62.7% of the elderly is bed-bound and unable to walk after their fall, and 71% of these patients need caregiver. The report from the orthopedic department in Maharaj Nakhon Si Thammarat hospital also shows that the total number of the patients with hip fracture in 2017, 2018, and 2019 are 73, 98, and 142 respectively.

Objectives: To study; The effect of a program to encourage caregivers to participate in the care of elderly patients with hip fractures that replace hip implants. The outcome consists of knowledge and skill in the care for elderly patients as a caregiver and the abilities to perform daily tasks as in Maharaj Nakhon Si Thammarat hospital.

Materials and methods: This study used a quasi-experimental research model with one-group pretest-posttest design by applying the Bloom concept (Bloom, 1995). The sample populationconsisted of 47 primary caregivers, receivedthe program to encourage caregivers to participate in the care of elderly patients with hip fractures that replace hip implants in Maharaj Nakhon Si Thammarat Hospital.The data from both caregivers and patients are collected by using 5 parts of questionnaire consisted of Part 1:personal information of the patient, Part 2:personal information of the caregiver, Part 3:caregiver’s knowledge assessment in patient care, Part 4:caregiver’s skills assessment in patient care, and Part 5: the patient's ability assessment in performing daily tasks.

Results: The results show that the average score of the knowledge and skill of the caregiver and the ability to perform daily tasks of the patient increases from moderate level to high level after the end of the program. Ineach of all three aspects also improve statistically significant (p < 0.05). In the aspect of ability to perform daily tasks, most patients who received the program perform better in daily living compared before the program.

Conclusions: The program to encourage caregivers to participate in the care for elderly patients with hip fracture that replace hip implants can increase the knowledge and skill of the caregivers in taking care of the patients, and it can also improve the ability to perform daily tasks of elderly patients.