A Study to Assess the Effectiveness of Informational Booklet (IB) for Caregivers Regarding the Care of Patients Receiving Antipsychotic Drugs at Selected Hospital of Gwalior

Mental illness is one of the leading diseases all over the world. Families are an integral part of the care system for persons with a chronic mental illness. Educating and training caregivers can increase compliance with discharge plans and prevent re-admissions. Informational booklet is an effective teaching strategy for giving information to caregivers. This study was conducted to find out the effectiveness of informational booklet for caregivers regarding care of a patient receiving antipsychotic drugs. The study was conducted in Mansik Arogya sala, Mental Hospital Gwalior with 250 beds. An evaluator approach with one group pre-test - post-test design was used for the study. The sample consisted of 30 caregivers selected by convenience sampling method. Data were collected by administering a structured knowledge questionnaire prepared by the investigator. After collection of the baseline data informational booklet was given to the subjects and on the seventh day post-test was conducted using the same questionnaire used for collecting the baseline data. The collected data were analyzed by using descriptive and inferential statistics ('t' test). This study revealed that the mean post-test knowledge score (x2 = 24) was higher than the mean pre-test knowledge scores (x₂ = 16). The 't' value computed ('t' = 13.38; P < 0.05) showed a significant difference suggesting that the IB was effective in increasing the knowledge of caregivers. The mean post-test area-wise scores x₂ = 2.43, 1.8, 3.73, 2.3, 4.03, and 10.13 respectively were higher than the mean pre-test area-wise scores (x₁ = 1.6, 1.06, 2.46, 1.76, 2.83, and 3.96).There was no association between the pre-test knowledge scores and selected variables like education, religion, income and previous experience of caring for mentally ill patients.