Development of a Health Literacy Enhancement Model for Patients with Type 2 Diabetes to Achieve Diabetes Remission in the Khlong Luang Hospital, Pathum Thani Province

Abstract

This research and development study aimed to 1) study health literacy of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in achieving diabetes remission, 2) develop a health literacy enhancement model for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in achieving diabetes remission, and 3) examine effectiveness of the developed model at Khlong Luang Hospital, Pathum Thani Province. The study employed a research and development design consisting of three phases. Samples in phase 1 consisted of 190 participants, while samples in phase 3 consisted of 66 participants, divided into an experimental group and a control group, with 33 participants in each group. The intervention was conducted over a period of 16 weeks. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, paired t-test, and independent t-test at the 0.05 significance level.

 The results showed that factors associated with health literacy included internet access ability, educational level, and type of diabetes treatment. Internet access ability and educational level were positively associated with health literacy, whereas the type of diabetes treatment was negatively associated with health literacy. The developed model was evaluated by experts and was found to have a high to the highest level of appropriateness. After the intervention, the experimental group had significantly higher health literacy scores than the control group (p<0.001). In  addition, the experimental group had significantly better HbA1c, FBS, body weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, and body mass index outcomes than the control group. The findings indicated that the developed model can enhance health literacy and improve health outcomes among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.