Self-care ability in people with diabetes
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55707/jhs.v12i2.188Keywords:
self-care, SDSCA, education, individualized educationAbstract
Self-care is the ability of a person to take care of themselves in health and illness. With this research, we wanted to determine what self-care is like for people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes in Croatia, before and after individualized education. To collect data, we used the standardized questionnaire, Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities (SDSCA), which we supplemented with demographic data and data from the hospital information system. The study involved 396 patients hospitalized at the Vuk Vrhovac Clinic, who participated in the evaluation of chronic complications of diabetes and the therapeutic approach. Due to the need to improve the level of self-care, we prepared individualized education. The three-day individualized education was designed as a thematically structured education. We found that patients with type 1 diabetes had significantly higher self-care ability scores than patients with type 2 diabetes, that women were more successful than men in foot care and diabetic nutrition, and that men were more successful than women in physical activity. With these research findings, we have proven that individualized education helps independence in self-care when it is tailored to the patients’ personal needs.
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