Assessment of Overall Self-Care Among the East Indian Population: An Experimental, Observational, and Validated Study

Introduction:The aim was to construct a tool to assess the overall self-care of an individual and to determine the correlation of the collected data with a 15day interval for the validation of the specially designed datasheet in a semiurban population in West Bengal.Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study comprised structured questions on overall self-care (CARE) related topics for individuals within a specific population, focusing on socio-demographic variables.Oral healthrelated behavior was assessed in 25 study subjects aged 2-80 years attending a dental clinic in Sonarpur, West Bengal, India.Data was recorded with a specially designed questionnaire in written form.Statistical analysis was carried out to determine the distribution of variables related to lifestyle and assess the correlation of the determinants by evaluating the kappa value. Results:The study subject population includes various ages, from that of a child (over 2 years who can consciously speak with understanding the situation) to older age (80 years); both gender; employed or unemployed; with or without education; any income; any socioeconomic status; high, moderate or poor lifestyles, for evaluation of their overall self-care.All the social, personal and family related data evaluated in the same subjects with a same evaluator (PI) and the same datasheet along with necessary consent or assent, in a 15 days interval and the statistical evaluation indicates at the data set or questionnaire set is statistically valid with a kappa value (k) of '1' or 'close to 1'.Conclusion: Patients' involvement in overall self-care, including promoting healthy habits, accepting community-aided assistance, and maintaining a balanced diet, leads to a generally good lifestyle.These self-care regulatory factors along with parental or caregivers care, judicial use of potable water, proper use of toilet, use of mosquito net, availability of emergency health assessment and restoration kit like thermometer, emergency medicines, blood pressure machine in a proximity to the house may help to improve or protect their overall self-health for future.This validated and statistically significant 'The Sonarpur Model' may be used as a measurement tool or an instrument for further studies, and, to the best of our knowledge, this study is the first study to assess the overall self-care of an individual.