Development of home-based care intervention module for filarial lymphedema patients

Abstract

The study aims to describe the development and validation of an intervention module based on home-based care training for patients with filarial lymphedema. Qualitative and quantitative approaches were followed for the development of the intervention module. Initial steps involved the framing of the intervention module. Direct observation, interviews with patients, suggestions from five experts in community medicine, community health nursing, and plastic surgery department were conducted. The experts and patients for the discussion were chosen with the help of convenient sampling. The experts rated the usefulness and feasibility of the components on a scale of 1–5 (5 extremely helpful). The ingredients derived for the intervention module included washing and drying of limb, prevention, care of entry lesions, light oil massage, the exercise of limb, the elevation of the stem, wearing of appropriate footwear, and management of adenolymphangitis (ADL). The intervention included individual sessions with demonstration and return demonstration. The final version of the module was pilot tested among five patients and had been found to improve the quality of life. Home-based care training with low-cost interventions can improve patients’ quality of life.