Abstract
This study was aimed at assessing the development of the diabetes mellitus clinic of the Jungharn
Hospital’s Outpatient Department. The hospital’s management personnel together with the clinic practitioners
participated in the study in order to analyze and solve service problems, so that the clinic could be
refitted. Seventy-five diabetes patients were included in the study group obtained by systematic random
sampling technique. The data were collected by interviews, questionnaires, group discussions, and observation
in the period from October 2005 to September 2006. The data were subjected to content analysis,
frequency, percentage, means, and paired t-test
In situation analysis, the first step in this kind of study, it was found that the existing service was not
convenient for diabetic patients because too many steps were required, the time consumed was prolonged,
and health education was not at all applicable to the patient’s problems and what was needed to solve them. The following stages were conducted by the groups of managers and care providers who participated
in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the service. Nurses were prepared for work in
the diabetes mellitus clinic service, and used OPD cards for following up diabetic patients. When such
patients made contact with the diabetes mellitus clinic, their fasting blood sugar level was assessed; they
were treated by a physician, and received drugs. The last step in the service was a group discussion.
Evaluation of each patient’s satisfaction was assessed in terms of whether they had a say and were given
recognition, which were much higher, and the means of fasting blood sugar decreased after the diabetes
mellitus clinic was developed; this was found to be statistically significant at the p-value < 0.01 by paired
t-test.
The study suggested that, clinic development requires staff participation in all processes, team work,
good patient relationships, and the availability of a service center.
