engleski

Quality of life following an educational intervention

Background and aims: Quality of life (QoL) is an important outcome measure in diabetes care. This study was aimed to examine the long-term effects of a team educational intervention on the patients&#8217 ; QoL. Patients and methods: 395 patients (212 females, aged 39.2&#61617 ; 15.1 yrs, suffering from diabetes for 11.4&#61617 ; 8.7 yrs, treated with insulin in 89%, having baseline HbA1C values 8.6% &#61617 ; 2.3, educated at primary level in 10.4%, secondary in 66.6% and university in 23%, were included in a 5-day educational course, structured as a small-group educational and psychological workshop. The groups were invited for medical check-ups and educational refreshments at 3- month periods, and assessed regarding their QoL prior to the course, and after follow-up periods of 3 and 18 months. The WHOQoL-BREF, a 26-item generic quality of life instrument was used. The instrument covers four QoL domains: Physical, Psychological, Social relations and Environment. Paired t-tests and correlations were employed to compare the QoL indicators at different assessment points. Results: When compared with baseline indicators, the patients&#8217 ; QoL improved after 3 months with regard to their overall QoL (t=-4.3 p=.000), satisfaction with health (t=-8.5 p=.000), Physical domain (t=-6.44 p=.000), Psychological domain (t=-4.29 p=.000), Social domain (t=-3.25 p=.001) and Environment (t=-4.69 p=.000). The improved QoL remained stable after 15 months for all the four domains, while the subjective evaluations of overall QoL and general health further improved. The indicators of metabolic control were improved after 3 months to 8.0%&#61617 ; 1.8, and 7.8%&#61617 ; 1.6 after 18 months. The associations between glycemic control as measured by HbA1C values and QoL were shown to be significant for physical and psychological domains at baseline (r=-.13 r=-.11), for physical, psychological and social domains at the 3-month follow-up period ( r=-.11 r=-.17 r=-.12) and for physical domain after a 18-month follow-up period (r=-.29).Conclusion: A team educational intervention followed by regular check-ups has long-term positive effects on the patients&#8217 ; quality of life.

Diabetes mellitus; quality of life; patient education

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