A study of the accuracy, and factors influencing accuracy, of home addresses of patients obtained by registry clerks and address cards in four large towns in South India

Abstract In 4 large towns in South India with illiteracy levels of 26% to 40%, the efficiency of registry clerks in eliciting the home addresses of 1338 out-patients was assessed, by verifying receipt of a letter posted to the patients. The efficiency was found to be very poor, namely 66%. Moreover, the accuracy of address was substantially poorer for illiterate patients and for patients living for relatively short durations at their present address. Our innovation, the address card, on which the home address was recorded by a knowledgeable literate person of the patient's choice, was returned by 98% of the patients, and the addresses were found accurate in 84%; the findings were similar in the 4 towns and were unaffected by any patient characteristic. The substantially better results with the address card were found in both illiterate and literate patients. These findings establish the address card as a simple, inexpensive and efficient device for obtaining accurate addresses.