Evaluation of Self-Care Practice and Impact of Patient Counselling in Type- 2 Diabetic Patients

Abstract

The study was conducted to assess the self-care practices in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients and the effectiveness of patient counselling in improving those practices in a tertiary care hospital setting. The study was a prospective interventional study that was carried out in the outpatient department of general medicine and conducted for 6 months. Self-care practice was evaluated with the help of the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Questionnaire, Morisky Medication Adherence Scale 8, and Diabetic Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire. During the study period, 150 patients were screened and 132 patients who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled in the study. Out of this, 53% were male patients and 47% were female patients. The highest prevalence of the disease was found to be 34.85% in the age group 61-70. From the Knowledge Attitude Practice Questionnaire, it was observed that the good, average, and the poor scores were 9.8%, 42.4%, and 47.7% for knowledge, 3.0%, 65.1% and 31.8% for attitude, and 23.4%, 65.9% and 10.6% for practice respectively. There was an overall improvement in the knowledge, attitude, and practice of the patients. The medication adherence and Diabetic Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire scores also showed notable improvement. The results were analyzed by comparing the baseline and follow-up scores. Diabetes self-management is critical to having a favourable clinical result. The intervention of educational programs by the health care team is very essential for a better understanding and management of the disease for the patients in achieving their healthcare goals.