Family Adoption Programme: Perception and Feedback of Families- A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: The Family Adoption Programme (FAP), introduced under the Competency Based Medical Education (CBME) curriculum by the National Medical Commission, provides undergraduate medical students with experiential learning in community-based healthcare through long term engagement with rural families. Assessing adopted family’s perception and feedback is essential to evaluate the programme’s effectiveness and identify areas for improvement.

Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in one village among 103 families adopted under FAP by medical college. One adult respondent from each family was interviewed by house-to-house visit using semi-structured questionnaire after obtaining informed consent. The information on socio-demographic characteristics, awareness regarding FAP, perceived benefits, expectations, satisfaction and suggestions for programme improvement was collected.

Results: Medical students were the primary source of information regarding FAP for 85.4% of the respondents. Most of the families (66%) perceived FAP primarily as a means of receiving free healthcare at home and it facilitates early disease detection (86.4%). Health education, blood pressure measurement, anthropometric assessment and information on government schemes were found to be the most expected services of families. 96.1% respondents rated student’s communication skills as good and 75.7% said students were confident.90.3% families reported irregular follow-up by students. Help in healthcare assess and increasing the frequency of family visits were most frequently suggested improvements.

Conclusion: The adopted families perceived FAP as programme for providing free healthcare services at home and beneficial for early disease detection. They appreciated the medical student’s communication skills and confidence. However, most families reported irregular follow up by students.