HEALTH CARE NEEDS FOR INCLUSION IN HOME-BASED INSTRUCTIONAL PACKAGE FOR MANAGEMENT OF MILD MENTALLY CHALLENGED PERSONS IN AKWA IBOM STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract: The management of individuals with mild mental challenges requires a holistic approach that integrates both educational and health care support. As home-based instructional packages become increasingly relevant especially in contexts where institutional resources are limited, this study determined the health care needs for inclusion in home-based instructional package for family management of mild mentally challenged persons in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Two specific purposes and two research questions guided the study. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The target population of the study was 81 experts from which the sample size of 63 experts was selected and used for the study. A structured questionnaire titled Health Care Needs for Management of Mild Mentally Challenged Persons Questionnaire (HCNMMMCPQ) was used for data collection. The instrument was face-validated by five experts and recorded a reliability coefficient of 0.91 using Cronbach’s Alpha. Mean and standard deviation were employed in analyzing the research questions. Findings showed that experts approved the inclusion of all the identified medical care tasks (2.99±0.61) and nutritional care tasks (3.04±0.66) in the home-based instructional package for family management of mild mentally challenged persons. Based on the findings, the study concluded that a functional home-based instructional package should include specific care tasks in the medical domain (such as regular medical check-ups) and nutritional domain (such as balanced meal intake) tailored to meet the needs of Mild Mentally Challenged Persons. In line with these findings, it was recommended that developers of instructional packages should ensure the inclusion of specific medical and nutritional care tasks that address the unique needs of individuals with mild mental challenge.