The effect of peer group training on self-care of elderly with diabetes mellitus

The prevalence of chronic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, in elderly can be controlled with training self-control behaviors, especially in peer groups. Regarding to specific conditions and greater rate of complications in the elderly, the peer group self-care education is in specific importance among these patients. The present study was aimed to investigate the effect of peer group training on the self-care of elderly with diabetes in selected health centers of Isfahan.
The present clinical trial compared 21 elderly patients with diabetes higher than 65 years old trained by a peer educator and 23 elderly patients received training by none peer group (trained by a researcher) for 4 months. The samples were randomly divided into two groups. The self-care behaviors were assessed by a questionnaire in 4 dimensions of diet, sport, glucose test, and diabetic drugs and the results were compared between groups. T-independent for statistical tests and to compare three times in a group was used ANOVA with repeated observations.
The total score of self-care in the test group increased significantly from 31±5.61 before intervention, to 42±7.01 after intervention and 35.55±5.11 one month after intervention, while the control group had no significant change. Different dimensions of the questionnaire were not statistically with a significant difference between groups, except in the field of sports was significant a month later intervention (P=0.05). There was a direct relationship between level of education and self-care score.
According to the findings, training the elderly patients with diabetes by a peer group can promote their self-care. Therefore, training with a peer group is advised as an efficient method for improving self-care of elderly diabetic patients.