Impact of Structured Teaching Program on Knowledge Regarding Prevention of Diabetic Retinopathy

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a public health problem that affects all levels of society regardless of age, gender, ethnicity or race. Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a long-term and most common microvascular complication of DM and is the leading cause of visual impairment in productive segments of the population. The large diabetic population and increased incidence of DR has become a significant burden on the healthcare sector in India. Patient education plays an important role in managing DM and preventing complications like DR. In the present study, a quasi-experimental, one-group pre-test-post-test design was used to assess the effectiveness of the structured teaching program on knowledge regarding prevention of DR in diabetics. A non-probability purposive sampling technique was used to select 50 diabetic patients admitted to the hospital. Data was collected from participants using an interview schedule prepared by the investigator. STP was administered on the same day. On the seventh day, the post-test was conducted using the same structured interview schedule. The mean knowledge score of the subjects in the post- test (40.94 ± 3.61) has increased significantly (t= 42.06, p<0.05) when compared to the pre- test knowledge score (15.16 ± 6.61). The data shows that the structured teaching programme is effective in increasing the knowledge score of the subjects, with the maximum enhancement being in the area of eye check-up. Nurses should place health in the hands of the patient, especially for diabetic clients as they are in need of long-term care. The teaching program developed by the investigator can be used by the nurses to educate diabetic clients on prevention of diabetic retinopathy.