Video Assisted Teaching Module (VATM): developed for primary caregivers on home care of schizophrenic patient

Abstract

The vital role of Health Promotion is a research based communication process involving planning, design, and implementation of strategic intervention. It provides relevant information and adequate motivation to impact attitudes and behaviors in individuals or groups.1 Health education has always been a vital component of nursing.2 Nurses have a long history as patient educators. Patient teaching is a tenet of all nursing education programs and an important nursing role.3,4 Most nurses recognize the importance of patient and caregiver education but are frustrated by the lack of time and resources to support it. They know that the limited time they have with patients can restore health to some degree, but the patient and family are ultimately responsible for continuing the gains and maintaining health through self-care.5 Nurses often respond to the pressure by saying they have “no time to teach” and then ask, “How can I get more time to teach?” In these tight economic times, the response is a frustrating “no money, no staff, no time.” As our world changes, the methods available to teach patients and caregivers expand. Using video as a method of teaching has been found to be an effective and economic in times of nursing shortage.6 The use of educational video offers many favorable characteristics in the variety field of medical and nursing area. Video teaching can provide a consistent from of teaching and can communicate certain concepts in a visual and realistic manner.7 Furthermore, video education has been shown to be superior to traditional method and improve knowledge score.8,9 The purpose of this study was to evaluate how the implementation of a VATM on home care of schizophrenic patient would influence the caregiver understanding of the nature of illness, attitude towards the patient, treatment and social interaction, caregiver’s burden and skill in handling schizophrenic patient at home. Video assisted teaching module