THE EFFICIENCY OF INDIVIDUAL VERSUS GROUP CARE IN TYPE 2 DIABETES PATIENTS AT WANGCHAO HOSPITAL

Abstract

Diabetes is nowadays a major problem in Wangchao, Tak. The problem with high blood glucose levels does not tend to be controlled as targeted. The patient-centerd care was used in this study so that patients could participate in thier self-care better.

The objective of the study is to compare the effectiveness between patient-centered care model used in individual patients by family physicians and group care model at Wangchao Hospital.

Methods: A prospective cohort study of 100 patients with poor controlled (HbA1C > 7%) type 2 diabetes was conducted. 50 patients were treated with PCC model in OPD (out-patient department) and the other 50 patients received patient education from a multidisciplinary team at DM Clinic every two months. Before and after comparision of HbA1c levels, by using paired t-test and independent t-test in each group and between groups, indicated the statistical significance at 0.05 level with/and a confidence Interval of 95%.

The result of this study showed that patients in PCC with family physicians had statistically significance of lower HbA1c (p=0.043, 95%CI 0.01-0.58) and LDL (p=0.022, 95%CI 2.05-26.11) than that of the patients in the compared group. In General, both groups showed improvement in health care behaviour, but significantly better in the PCC group (p= 0.033, 95%CI 0.04-0.84). According to average knowledge scores, both groups had higher scores after partipating in the activities, but not any statistically significant differences.