title: Patient-Assessed Chronic Illness Care (PACIC) scenario in an Indian homeopathic hospital.
abstract: Homeopathy research has focused on chronic conditions; however, the extent to which current homeopathic care is compliant with the Chronic Care Model (CCM) has been sparsely shown. As the Bengali Patient-Assessed Chronic Illness Care (PACIC)-20 was not available, the English questionnaire was translated and evaluated in a government homeopathic hospital in West Bengal, India. The translation was done in six steps, and approved by an expert committee. Face validity was tested by 15 people for comprehension. Test/retest reliability (reproducibility) was tested on 30 patients with chronic conditions. Internal consistency was tested in 377 patients suffering from various chronic conditions. The questionnaire showed acceptable test/retest reliability [intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) 0.57-0.75; positive to strong positive correlations; p < 0.0001] for all domains and the total score, strong internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.86 overall and 0.65-0.82 for individual subscales), and large responsiveness (1.11). The overall mean score percentage seemed to be moderate at 69.5 ± 8.8%. Gender and presence of chronic conditions did not seem to vary significantly with PACIC-20 subscale scores (p > 0.05); however, monthly household income had a significant influence (p < 0.05) on the subscales except for "delivery system or practice design." Overall, chronic illness care appeared to be quite promising and CCM-compliant. The psychometric properties of the Bengali PACIC-20 were satisfactory, rendering it a valid and reliable instrument for assessing chronic illness care among the patients attending a homeopathic hospital.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Unit (Homeopathy), Central Council for Research in Homeopathy, Government of India, Gokhel Road, Arabindapally, Siliguri 734006, Darjeeling, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Munmun
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koley
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Unit (Homeopathy), Central Council for Research in Homeopathy, Government of India, Gokhel Road, Arabindapally, Siliguri 734006, Darjeeling, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Subhranil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saha
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Mahesh Bhattacharyya Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Government of West Bengal, Drainage Canal Road, Doomurjala, Howrah 711104, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Shubhamoy
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ghosh
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Mahesh Bhattacharyya Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Government of West Bengal, Drainage Canal Road, Doomurjala, Howrah 711104, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Goutam
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nag
authors.affiliation: Private Practice, Ramrajatala, Muchipara Road, GIP Colony, Howrah 711112, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Monojit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kundu
authors.affiliation: Mahesh Bhattacharyya Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Government of West Bengal, Drainage Canal Road, Doomurjala, Howrah 711104, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Ramkumar
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mondal
authors.affiliation: Mahesh Bhattacharyya Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Government of West Bengal, Drainage Canal Road, Doomurjala, Howrah 711104, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Rajib
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Purkait
authors.affiliation: Mahesh Bhattacharyya Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Government of West Bengal, Drainage Canal Road, Doomurjala, Howrah 711104, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Supratim
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Patra
authors.affiliation: Mahesh Bhattacharyya Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Government of West Bengal, Drainage Canal Road, Doomurjala, Howrah 711104, West Bengal, India.
authors.forename: Seikh Swaif
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Ali
keywords: India; chronic care model; chronic illness care; disease management; homeopathy