Effect of empowerment model on distress and diabetes control in patients with type 2 diabetes

Patient empowerment is an effective way to reach behavioral changes in diabetes control. The purpose of this study was conducted to investigate the effect of the educational program based on the empowerment model on distress and diabetes control in patients with type 2 diabetes. A RCT was conducted with 140 patients with type 2 diabetes randomly allocated to intervention and control group. In the intervention group, patients were divided to five groups with 14 patients in each group and participated in the empowerment model-based education program. In the control group, the traditional education was held. Patients’ empowerment and diabetes control were assessed using the diabetes distress questionnaires and HbA1C, respectively. It was revealed that a diabetes distress was reduced significantly in the intervention group in comparison to the control group. It was also found that with decreasing diabetes distress, the level of HbA1C diminished in the intervention group. Education based on the empowerment model in the intervention group resulted in reducing diabetes distress and improving diabetes control in comparison to the traditional education.