Effect of home health care for self care among diabetes mellitus patients of Thawangpha hospitan, Nan province

Abstract

          Self-care promotion is an important goal of services for diabetes mellitus patients in order to control their conditions into normal level. This research aimed to compare knowledge of self care and glycemic control of diabetes mellitus patients before and after home visits, and to examine their satisfaction toward home visits. Samples, selected by purposive sampling, were non-insulin diabetes mellitus patients who utilized diabetes clinic of Thawangpha hospital, Thawangpha, Nan. The process and guidelines of home health care of Thawangpha hospital were used for this study. Data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation, and simple pair t-test was used for statistical test.

Results revealed as followings: 1) after home visit, the diabetes mellitus patients had knowledge of self care higher than before home visit with statistical significance at 0.001. 2) When compare glycemic control between before and after home visit, finding indicated that blood sugar level decreased from 168.5 mg/dl to 141.53 mg/dl. With regard to satisfaction, it was found that diabetes patients had the highest satisfaction with soft and humanized healthcare provided for them and their family.

In conclusion, findings suggest that home health care influences knowledge of self care, glycemic control, and satisfaction among diabetes mellitus patients.