A STUDY TO EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF STRUCTURED TEACHING PROGRAMME ON KNOWLEDGE REGARDING MAJOR GERIATRIC PROBLEMS AND ITS MANAGEMENT AMONG CAREGIVERS AT SELECTED OLD AGE HOMES, RAMANAGARA

Background: Ageing is a natural process in the words of “SENECA”, old age is an incurable disease but more recently “Sir. James Sterling Ross” commented you do not heal old age, you protect it, you promote it, you extend it, it is not the fact that growing old should be a time of dismay and withdrawal from everything around, in fact most people growing old is a time to be enjoyed. Dates on the calendar denote only the passing of time but ageing denotes the declining level of physical activity and response to it. Aim: To assess the effectiveness of a structured teaching programme on knowledge regarding major geriatric problems and its management among caregivers at selected old age homes, ramanagara. Methods: A pre-experimental, one-group pre-test–post-test design was adopted. The study was conducted among 60 care givers selected by purposive sampling. A structured questionnaire was used to assess knowledge. The structured teaching programme covered of major geriatric problmes and its management. Data were collected before and one weeks after the intervention. Results: The pre-test mean knowledge score was 43.33 (SD=4.72), and post-test mean score was 85.56 (SD= 6.68) indicating a statistically significant improvement (p < 0.05) in knowledge and management. The findings suggest that structured teaching programmes are effective in improving awareness and promoting healthy practices among care givers. Conclusion: The present study attempted to assess the structured teaching programme on major geriatric problems and its management among care givers at selected old age home and concluded that there was a significant improvement in the knowledge after structured teaching programme. Thus structured teaching programme is effective in improving the knowledge of care givers.