Evaluating the effect of a training program on type 2 diabetic patient’s self-care: A quasi-experimental study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus is one of the growing medical problems that affect people of all ages worldwide. Education is an important part of treatment in this chronic condition. The primary objectives of diabetes education include improving knowledge and skills, changing the patient’s behavior, motivating them to follow therapeutic recommendations, establishing self-care habits, and increasing their psychological resilience. The authors aimed to examine the effect of a training program on type 2 diabetic patients’ self care and investigate their perspectives on the educational program. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The current study used a quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest design that was conducted in Iraq. Sixty patients who met the selection criteria were included in the study. Data were collected by demographic questionnaire and the Diabetes Self-Care Scale (DSCS). Data analysis was done by independent T-tests and Paired t-tests were used to compare the scores before and after the intervention. RESULTS: The sample included 60 diabetic patients with more than half of them being female (55%). Most respondents aged between 50 and 60 years old, and next to half of them had only primary school education. We found that training programs can improve self-care behavior among diabetic patients so that following the intervention, the self-care score increased from 1.79 ± 0.360 to 3.17 ± 0.546 (P = 0.01). CONCLUSION: Since diabetes is a chronic condition that affects the whole individual’s life, self-care plays an important role in preventing potential complications and improving quality of life. Training programs, on the other hand, increase the awareness and knowledge of patients and enable them to handle this chronic condition properly.