Effectiveness of Self-Care and Self-Regulation Program on Self-Care Behaviors and Blood Sugar Level among Ageing Adults with Type 2 Diabetes, Chantha Buri Province

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of self-care and self-regulation program on self-care behaviors and blood sugar levels among older adults with type II diabetes. Sixty ageing adults with type II diabetes of over 130 mg/dl of blood sugar level and living in Chantha Buri province partici-pated in this study. They were randomly divided equally into treatment and control groups. The study tools were: (1) the self-care and self-regulation program, (2) questionnaires, and (3) blood glucose examina-tion. The data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test and repeated measure anova. The results showed that the average scores of eating behavior and exercise behavior of the experimental group at the eleventh and sixteenth weeks post-intervention were higher than the average score at before the intervention; and the average blood sugar level post-intervention was lower than that of pre-intervention (p<0.001). The eating and exercise behavioral scores at the eleventh and sixteenth weeks were significantly higher than those of the control group (p<0.001); and the average blood sugar level was significantly lower (p<0.001). Thus, the self-care and self-regulation program could be effective for promoting self-care behavior among ageing adults with type II diabetes as the program could improve eating and exercise behaviors, and reduce blood sugar level. Therefore, the program should be widely implemented by health care providers in order to promote health among diabetic patients both in health facilities and in the communities.