Abstract
Non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) is a major health problem. One
significant factor that affects the success in its control and treatment involves the individual
self-care behavior in patients’ life style.
The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of group participation in
self-help on self-care in patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus by comparing
them with patients receiving routine advice. The subjects included 88 non-insulin
dependent diabetes patients who attended the outpatient department of Prachathipat
Hospital in the period from December 2006 through May 2007. The samples were simply
randomized into experimental and control groups comprising 44 patients each. The experimental
groups assigned to the self-help group was further divided into four subgroups
of 8 -11 patients to join three activity sessions, spending 40 minutes in each of
them once a month. The control group received routine advice. Data were then collected
through interviews using questionnaires before and after the experiment. The statistical
analyses provided mean, standard deviation, and information from paired t-test and ttest.
The findings showed that, after completing the study project, the self-care behavior
mean score of patients who participated in the self-help group was statistically higher
than it was before starting the experiment and higher than the results in the control group.
The gained mean score on self-care behavior after the experiment between the self-help
group participating and the routine teaching group differed statistically.
The explanation given was that participation in the self-help group provided the
patients with sharing and learning experiences. The researcher suggested that the efficiency
of self-care behavior could also be modified for practice in the prevention of complications
from other chronic diseases.
