The Effects of Empowerment Program on Self-Care Behaviors and Hemoglobin A1C among Diabetes Mellitus Type II Patients with Uncontrollable Glycemic Control

Abstract

Empowerment is a process that enhances an individual's confidence, enabling them to achieve goals and accomplish tasks effectively and autonomously. This quasi-experimental study utilized a one-group pretest-posttest design. The objective was to study the effects of an empowerment program by comparing the mean scores of self-care behaviors and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels among patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes before and after participating in the program. The sample consisted of 31 patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes who received medication continuously from Mon Din Daeng Subdistrict Health Promoting Hospital, Tha-Sao Subdistrict, Uttaradit Province. Data were collected using the following questionnaires: a personal information questionnaire, an HbA1c record form, and a self-care behavior questionnaire, which was checked for content validity by three experts. The Index of item objective congruence (IOC) was between .67 and 1.00.  The reliability, calculated using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, was .89. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and paired t-tests. The results found that after participating in the empowerment program, the patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes demonstrated significantly higher self-care behavior scores and significantly lower HbA1c levels compared to before participating in the program. Therefore, healthcare providers should foster patient empowerment to enhance motivation and confidence in managing their own blood glucose levels.