Knowledge of Home Care Management Among Caregivers of Mentally ill Patients in a Selected Psychiatric Hospital of Srinagar

The study was conducted with the aim of assessing the knowledge of home care management among caregivers of mentally ill patients. Objectives of the study: 1. To assess the knowledge of home care management among caregivers of mentally ill patients. 2.To determine the association between knowledge of home care management among caregivers of mentally ill patients with their selected socio-demographic variables (age in years, gender, educational status, occupation, family monthly income, type of family, type of residence, relationship with the patient, and duration of the caregiver’s role). Materials and Methods: A quantitative research approach with a descriptive research design was used. The study was conducted in the inpatient and outpatient departments of IMHANS, Srinagar, Kashmir. 80 subjects  were selected using the non-probability purposive sampling technique. The data collection tool used was a “self-structured interview schedule” for assessing knowledge. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: Major findings of the study revealed that majority of the study subjects (91.2%) had good knowledge, whereas a small percentage (5.0%) had average knowledge and only   (3.8%) had poor knowledge. There was a statistically significant association between knowledge and socio-demographic variables like education status (p = 0.002) and family monthly income (p = 0.014) at 0.05 level of significance. Conclusions: The findings of the study concluded that majority of the caregivers had good knowledge about the aspects of home care management of mentally ill patients that included sleep pattern, personal hygiene, communication, physical activities, entertainment, nutrition, fluid intake, safety, drug regimens, and follow-up. Still the study reinforces the need to organize health camps, teaching programs, and the preparation of informational aids in the form of booklets or pamphlets that sensitize caregivers to incredibly enhance their knowledge regarding home care management of mentally ill patients.