The Development in Network of Intermediate Care to Long-Term Care System in Bandan District, Buri Ram Province

Abstract

This research and development project aimed to develop and evaluate a new networking system that connected intermediate care to long-term care for patients at Bandan district, Buriram province. The study was conducted during October 2020 and September 2021 and was consisted of 5 main steps. step 1: situational and problem analysis of the existing system; step 2: designing and developing the new networking system; step 3: implementing and testing of the new system; step 4: adjusting the system based on findings from step 4; and step 5: evaluating  the effectiveness and efficacy of the system. The samples included 167 persons selected purposively from the pool of health-care providers clients and stakeholders. The data were collected using knowledge test, participation questionnaire, home visit record, and Barthel ADL assessment before and after the implementation of the system. The data were analyzed using percentages, means, and standard deviations for descriptive purpose and paired t-test to determine differences between before and after the intervention. The significant level was set at p-value<0.05. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis.

The study showed that the development of the service linkage system was consisted of personnel development, an integrated home visiting process and create participation in providing services to connect with the community. Knowledge level among participants improved significantly after implementation the system (p<0.05). There was a 70.37% increase in the number of patients who improved to independency while 20% reported improving from complete dependence to partial dependence. About 60.47% reported having good to very good levels of participations to the system. This study demonstrates that the intermediate to long-term health network system will be effective with participations from all sectors in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the process.