Authors (including presenting author) :
Li PM, Ng TY, Chan APS, Au BKM
Affiliation :
Occupational Therapy Department, Tai Po Hospital
Introduction :
56% of patients admitted to Tai Po Hospital (TPH) for hip fracture in 2018 required assistance in Activities of Daily Living (ADL) after discharge. Therefore, Carer Empowerment Program (CEP) was introduced. Carers of patients who underwent Total Hip Arthroplasty/Hemiarthroplasty were the focus as more treatment effort was required for hip precautions, home modification and equipment prescription.
Objectives :
(1) To improve carers’ caring skills, confidence and readiness to take care of patients. (2) To improve efficiency and quality of carer training.
Methodology :
Subjects were main carers of patients admitted to TPH (1) underwent Total Hip Arthroplasty/Hemiarthroplasty; (2) planned to discharge home (3) assistance required in ADL after rehabilitation. Before carer training, the carer’s expectation and skills want to learn were collected by “Carer Evaluation Form” (CEF). The carer training was tailor-made according to the advice collected. “Home Environment Screening Pamphlet” was provided to carer for home environment measurement. During carer training, videos recorded ADL caring skills, hip precautions and use of assistive devices were shown. The carer then practised the skills under the guidance from Occupational Therapist which reduced the therapist’s demonstration time and increased practice time. Home modification and assistive devices were suggested and “Education Pamphlet Package” (EPP) was provided. The carer was reassessed by CEF immediately after carer training. Outcome measure was CEF which assessed the carer’s 1) self-perceived caring skills, 2) confidence to take care of patient and 3) readiness for patient to return home. Items were rated on a numerical rating scale. The carer’s satisfaction and comments on the carer training were also collected.
Result & Outcome :
Fifteen carers were recruited from September 2018 to August 2019. The carers showed significant improvement in 1) self-perceived caring skills (P = 0.001), 2) confidence to take care of patient (P = 0.001) and 3) readiness for patient to return home (P=0.001) after the carer training. All carers agreed that the carer training fulfilled their expectation and helped them take care of the patient. All carers were satisfied with the home modification advice recommended and agreed that EPP facilitated them to recapture the caring skills. To conclude, CEP improved carers’ caring skills, confidence and readiness to take care of patients. It also improved the efficiency and quality of carer training.
