Naiyana Noonill. The effectiveness of a community-based care program on health outcomes and satisfaction with care in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease . Doctoral Degree(Nursing). Mahidol University. : Mahidol University, 2006.
The effectiveness of a community-based care program on health outcomes and satisfaction with care in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Abstract:
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a healthcare problem both
globally and in Thailand, and is responsible for high health care expenditure and
disease burden. Pulmonary rehabilitation can help improve health outcomes; yet to
date, there is no evidence that an integrated approach to coordination of community
resources can improve outcomes for people with COPD in the Thai population.
The aim of this quasi-experimental study was to test the effectiveness of a 12-
week community-based care program on health related outcomes and patients’
satisfaction with care. The participants were selected from six tambons (communities)
with a large number of patients with COPD in Thasala district, Nakhon Si Thammarat
province of Thailand and the tambons were randomly assigned into either the
intervention or control group. There were 44 subjects in the intervention group and 43
subjects in the control group who completed the study. The intervention group
received: (1) a community-based group education which also included fellow patients,
families, and health volunteers from the same community; (2) individualized homebased
care and skill training; (3) enhanced psychosocial support consisting of a home
visit by a community nurse once a month, a visit by a health volunteer twice a month,
and family supervision. Exercise tolerance, dyspnea, health-related quality of life,
hospital utilization, and patient satisfaction with care data were collected at baseline
and the 12th week and the difference between groups were analyzed by using the
Independent t test or Mann-Whitney U test.
Statistical improvement in exercise tolerance, dyspnea, health-related quality
of life, and satisfaction with care was demonstrated in the intervention group
compared with the control group with a moderate to large effect size of 0.48, 0.59,
0.93, and 1.03, respectively. However, the hospital utilization was not significantly
different between the study groups.
The findings of this study show the effectiveness of this innovative
coordination of community resources appropriate to the rural culture which is a
kinship culture. The use of the program for patients with COPD in urban and
metropolitan communities especially requires appropriate use of the resources in
such communities.