The Effectiveness of a Self-Care Monitoring Program for Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus Patients and Home Visit Follow-Up

Abstract

Objective: To study the effectiveness of a self-care monitoring program combined with home visits, considering the outcomes of blood sugar level (HbA1c), knowledge and self-care behavior of diabetic patients compared with diabetic patients who received regular health education at a community health center.
Methods: This is a quasi-experimental study. The sample consisted of 60 non-insulin-dependent diabetic patients, divided into an experimental group of 30 patients and a control group of 30 patients. The study was conducted in the service area of ​​Uttaradit Community Health Center 1. The developed program focused on providing knowledge, recommendations, and guidelines for diabetic patients. Each diabetic patient visited their home. The home visit was planned and the health-related factor assessment form was used to identify problems and determine the purpose of the home visit from the health-related factor assessment form continuously for 12 weeks.
Results: The experimental group had a significant reduction in the mean HbA1C level from 8.2%(S.D.=0.90) to 6.9%(S.D.=0.50). The statistical analysis showed that there was a statistically significant change at the 0.05 level. The trial indicated that participation in a self-care monitoring program and home visits significantly affected glycemic control in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes while in the control group, no statistically significant (p>0.05) change in HbA1C levels (8.1% to 7.9%) was observed after the end of the study period. In addition, the results of the knowledge and behavior assessment found that the self-care behavior scores (= 82.3, S.D.=5.8) and daily self-care behaviors (M=43.25, S.D.=2.90) of the experimental group increased significantly at the 0.05 level.
Conclusions: The results of this study showed that the application of self-care monitoring program for non-insulin dependent diabetes patients and continuous home visits resulted in significantly better HbA1c control in patients at the 0.05 level. It has the potential to effectively promote self-care and blood sugar control in non-insulin dependent diabetes patients, leading to a tangible reduction in the burden of disease in the community.