Effects of self care planning on reduction of A1C hemoglobin in adults with diabetes mellitus

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most important health problems throughout the world. Although in many diseases, physicians are the main responsible for disease control and patients play an inactive role in their management, in DM, patients are themselves the main part of treatment process. This study was designed to demonstrate the effect of self care plan on reduction of A1C hemoglobin level in adults affected by DM. Sixty patients with type 2 DM were randomly selected. They were divided into two subgroups (30 patients in the intervention group and 30 in the control group). The intervention group had 3-4 sessions of education concerning insulin injection, hypoglycemic drugs, diet and metabolic control and then was followed during following 3 months in order to control the implementation of self care plan program. During the same time, the control group was observed every 2 weeks, regularly. Blood level of A1C Hemoglobin was measured in both groups, before and after self care teaching program. There was no significant difference in the blood level of A1C Hemoglobin in the intervention and control groups before self care teaching program, but after 3 months of education, the A1C level showed a significant decrease in the intervention group (p<0.001). Based on the study results, self care teaching program can cause a significant improvement in glycemic control of adults involved with DM.