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VOLUME 7 , ISSUE 1 ( January-June, 2019 ) > List of Articles

Original Article

To Study the Attitude of Staff in a Tertiary-care Trauma Center toward Patient's Relatives

Ravinder Ahlawat, Amit Lathwal, Sanjay Arya

Keywords : Family of the patient, Indoor ward, Trauma center

Citation Information : Ahlawat R, Lathwal A, Arya S. To Study the Attitude of Staff in a Tertiary-care Trauma Center toward Patient's Relatives. Int J Res Foundation Hosp Healthc Adm 2019; 7 (1):1-5.

DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10035-1102

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

Published Online: 01-12-2019

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2019; The Author(s).


Abstract

Background: In the developed countries, there is a building consensus for more open visiting polices and changing the role of family as the active care provider. Kangaroo mother care is one such accepted norm, which has transformed the organization of obstetrics and pediatrics ward. It is the right time to check for the readiness of our hospital staff for involving relatives as a co-care provider in our settings. In this part of globe, the presence of patient's relatives 24 × 7 in a public hospital is an accepted norm; however, their role has not been studied by the hospital administration and adequate provision has not been translated in the hospital architecture. Aims: To assess the knowledge and attitude of employees working at the apex acute care hospital, New Delhi toward patient's relatives. Setting and design: The study design is a survey research using a self-administered questionnaire to elucidate knowledge and attitude of healthcare workers in the apex trauma center. Materials and methods: A knowledge-and-attitude survey based on a questionnaire was undertaken during July 2016, among willing employees. The performa was distributed to different wards and areas, and was gathered the next day. The questionnaire was developed with the help of the faculty of hospital administration, and a beta analysis was performed before the final application. Results: A total of 159 performas were collected, of which 2 were rejected because of being incomplete. An estimated 93.6% respondents favor the idea of family staying at the bedside of a patient in the wards. Most of respondents were young, have 5–10 years of service, were well qualified, and were well versed with patient-care-giving practices. The factors favoring family stay in wards were ease to handle patients with accompanying family, family role in perceived faster recovery, emotional support to the patient, positive role of family in patient feeding, and role of family in reducing patient safety incidence. However, the role of family members in HAI and concerns for the privacy of the relatives were negatively related to the family stay in wards. The majority were not satisfied with the provisions made for the relatives in the hospital. A very high percentage believe that the design of the hospital needs to be changed for providing more space for relatives. The idea of introducing a foldable bed was accepted by a huge majority. Conclusion: With the accumulation of the knowledge that severe hospital-acquired infection (HAI) incidences are not affected by the presence or absence of the relatives near the patient, the level of anxiety, incidences of cardiac complication, and stress hormones’ level in the blood are favorably affected by the presence of relatives; family involvement is not just an administrative issue, and it has found clinical implication also. It is time to give bigger roles to the family for patients staying at the hospital.


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