Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Abstract: Aim: This study was conducted to assess the impact of a brief, patient-centered education program on perceived self-efficacy and attitudes towards diabetes of patients with type 2 diabetes. Materials and Methods: A randomized controlled study was designed and conducted to assess the impact of education using the DES (Diabetes Empowerment Scale) and DAS-3 (Diabetes Attitude Questionnaire-3), which were administered using a pre- and post-test design. A patient-centered education program was developed on the basis of the data supplied from patients' responses to a knowledge pre-test and the ´´Teaching Letters`` prepared by the Diabetes Education Study Group (DESG) of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD). Results: The intervention resulted in limited but some encouraging results, especially in perceived self-management of the psychosocial aspects of diabetes; assessing dissatisfaction and readiness to change; and setting and achieving diabetes goals. Conclusions: The study revealed that limited changes in attitude and self-efficacy are possible with a brief intervention.

Key Words: Patient education, type 2 diabetes, Diabetes Empowerment Scale (DES), Diabetes Attitude Scale-3 (DAS-3)