Development of a Pneumonia Preventive Model among Bed-ridden Older Adults in Nakhon Ratchasima

Abstract

This research and development project aimed to develop a model for the prevention of pneumonia in bedridden elderly people. The study was comprised of three phases: phase 1, analysis of the pneumonia prevention situation in the bedridden elderly;  phase 2, creating and developing the pneumonia prevention model; and phase 3, studying of the effectiveness of the pneumonia prevention model. The quasi-experimental  study consisted of two groups: an experimental group of 61 elderly caregivers following the model for prevention of pneumonia in bedridden elderly developed in phase 2, and a comparison group of 59 people elderly caregivers who follow the usual care model. The research was conducted from January 2022 to March 2023 and collected the quantitative data using a practice assessment forms and satisfaction assessment forms and the qualitative data using interview forms. Analysis of the quantitative data was done with descriptive statistics, while the qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis.

The results showed that: 1)  The situation of pneumonia prevention in bedridden elderly was that caregivers lacked knowledge, lacked health resources, and that there was a lack of caregivers . 2) The model for preventing pneumonia in bedridden elderly people consisted of  2.1) developing the competency of caregivers to prevent pneumonia in bedridden elderly people and 2.2) Creating continuity of care for bedridden elderly patients. 3) The trial of the pneumonia prevention model in bedridden elderly revealed that 73.8% of the experimental group continued to practice pneumonia prevention in bedridden people while 69.3% of the comparison group practice pneumonia prevention. Additionally, the participants in the experimental group were satisfied with the pneumonia prevention model for bedridden elderly people at a very good level. This indicates that the pneumonia prevention model can be used as a guideline to prevent bedridden complications among the bedridden elderly.