Abstract
A quasi-experimental research study was carried out in the period from January to
June 2007 in order to study the development of a care system for diabetes mellitus patients with regard to self-care behaviors and blood sugar level (HbA1
c) control in type II diabetes mellitus patients. The patients were divided into two study groups comparing
50 patients each. The experimental group included patients who lived in Banphue subdistrict (catchment area of Banphue Hospital). The control group constituted those living
in the other subdistrict. The information was collected by interview on self-care behaviors and blood sugar level (HbA1
c) determination. Data were analyzed by the SPSS program using frequency expressed by percentage, means and standard deviation, and by ttest and paired t-test for the differential test. The statistical significance was at 0.05 and
lower.
The development of the system was divided into two sections: 1. caring at the hospital, such as a one-stop service, self-help group, individual counselling for the patients
and their families, diabetes mellitus society setting, diabetes mellitus camping, and empowerment to the diabetes mellitus care network by a multidisciplinary health team; and
2. caring in the community in the form of home visits by a multidisciplinary health team.
The study revealed that the development of the diabetes mellitus patients care system affected statistical significance at the level of 0.05, both on better self-care behaviors
and blood sugar level (HbA1
c).
It indicates that the development of a care system for diabetes mellitus patients is
necessary and very important for improving service quality and the quality of life of the
patients. It should be extended to other primary care units in Banphue District elsewhere.
