“I Could Feel it after Listening to Those Who Can’t Reach Us:” Effect of Structured Home Visits to Bedridden Patients for Nurturing Compassion among Medical Interns

Background: One of the core competencies of an Indian Medical Graduate is to be a clinician who provides care with compassion. However, research suggests that compassion declines during medical training in India. Therefore, there is a need for an innovative method to nurture compassion among medical students. To assess the impact of structured home visits to bedridden patients on the compassion levels of medical interns. Materials and Methods: This was prepost study design conducted among medical interns posted at rural primary health center at Haryana during their community medicine posting. Each intern did home visit to bedridden patients, accompanied by health workers. The visit was structured to do a comprehensive assessment of patient, along with planning and providing supportive care. Compassion was measured using Sussex-Oxford Compassion for others scale. Pre- and posthome visit compassion scores were compared using paired statistical tests. Reflection and feedback from interns were thematically analyzed. Results: The mean total compassion score improved significantly from 76.9 (pre-home visit) to 79.7 (post-home visit) ( P < 0.05). Bootstrapping showed a mean improvement of +2.75 points (95% continuous integration: 0.4–5.1, P = 0.021). Interns’ reflections revealed enhanced understanding of patient suffering, caregiver challenges, and the social determinants of health. They reported challenges included time constraints, adverse weather, and limited scope for definitive interventions. Conclusion: Structured home visits are effective in nurturing compassion among medical interns, while simultaneously providing essential home-based care to bedridden patients. This dual-benefit model strengthens medical education and contributes to universal health coverage.