Efficiency of address cards, experienced health visitors and motivated registry clerks in obtaining the home address of urban patients in South India

Abstract

The address card, a card on which the patient's home address is asked to be recorded by the local postman, or by a knowledgeable and literate neighbour, relative or friend, was investigated for acceptability and efficiency in 4 tuberculosis out-patient clinics, in an urban community with substantial levels of illiteracy in Madras City. In the 4 clinics combined, 96% of the patients who reattended returned the completed card. Letters posted to the address on the cared were received by 85% of 419 patients, while 5% were returned by the post office as undelivered and a further 4% were, in all probability, not delivered; no information was available about the remaining 6%. A formal comparison in 392 of the above patients demonstrated the address card method to be significantly more efficient than interrogation by experienced health visitors. A retrospective comparison suggested that the efficiency of experienced health visitors was slightly better than that of highly motivated registry clerks, the proportions of letters received being 72% and 65% respectively.