Assessment the effect of diabetes education on self-care behaviors and glycemic control in the Turkey Nursing Diabetes Education Evaluating Project (TURNUDEP): a multi-center study

While diabetes mellitus is not contagious, it is a gradually increasing health problem due to its prevalence and related complications [1]. Diabetes is one of the most rapidly growing global health conditions of the twenty-first century due to the rate of population growth and increasing urbanization. Diabetes mellitus has affected more than half a billion people between the ages of 20 and 79 years globally. While the prevalence of diabetes mellitus in Turkey was 8.1% in 2011, it increased to 14.5% in 2021. It is predicted that Turkey will be among the top ten countries in the world in terms of diabetes prevalence in 2045 [2].

Since diabetes mellitus is a cause of concern due to its high prevalence and direct effects on mortality, disability, and healthcare expenses, it is critically important to control and effectively manage the disease [3]. In this context, while increasing awareness about the prevention of diabetes mellitus is the primary goal, making and maintaining lifestyle changes from the time of diagnosis is one of the important approaches [4]. For effective disease management in patients diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, it is important that patients are informed about the disease, learn about the appropriate use of medication, adapt their diet and physical activities according to the disease condition, and adopt behaviors such as self-monitoring and regular medical follow-up and care [4, 5]. It is important to improve the individual's self-care for the adoption and implementation of these behaviors [6].

The most effective method for improving self-care in individuals with diabetes mellitus is diabetes education [7]. Diabetes education is one of the effective interventions to influence lifestyle changes and is an integral part of the treatment for diabetes. Diabetes education aims to ensure the effective participation of individuals with diabetes mellitus by improving their compliance to treatment, preventing the complications associated with diabetes, reducing the cost of treatment, and improving the individual’s quality of life [5]. In this context, diabetes education includes sharing knowledge and experience to ensure that the individuals with diabetes feel better, can prevent possible complications by better control of the disease, reduce the cost of treatment, reduce treatment-related errors, and ensure that the patients adopt emerging technologies [7, 8]. Studies have demonstrated that diabetes education improves the self-care behavior of individuals, glycemic control, and quality of life [7, 9‐12]. Similarly, diabetes education helps people adopt a positive attitude toward the disease and improves treatment compliance [13]. Moreover, diabetes education reduces hospital and emergency room admissions and healthcare expenses [14, 15].

Healthcare professionals, especially nurses, have an important responsibility to meet the educational requirements of individuals with diabetes mellitus [16]. The importance of the nurses’ role in educating individuals with diabetes mellitus is known globally [17]. Most of the education and support to individuals with diabetes mellitus, both in community and acute-care hospital settings in many regions of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the USA, is provided by specialist nurses [18]. In Turkey, diabetes education is predominantly provided by diabetes nurse educators.

In addition to providing education, diabetes nurse educators support patients to set their goals for diabetes control, develop problem-solving skills, improve their knowledge and skills about self-care activities, gain self-confidence and self-competence, manage their own responsibilities, and be involved in the decision-making process [1]. Moreover, nurses play an important role in identifying the patients’ needs for education and improving the patients’ skills in controlling diabetes [8]. It has been reported that compared to other healthcare professionals, nurses have a higher possibility of encouraging healthcare-seeking behaviors [19]. Similarly, it has been highlighted that nurses can provide effective and qualified care at lower costs; therefore, nurses should play an important role in the education about diabetes treatment and care [17].

Diabetes education is provided by diabetes nurse educators to out-and in-patients with diabetes mellitus in almost all hospitals in Turkey, and this education is provided as a group activity within the scope of the ‘Patient/Diabetes School’ program rolled out by the Ministry of Health Hospitals. Additionally, diabetes nurse educators provide group education using slide shows prepared based on their own literature search or individual education using the demonstration and narration method. However, the evidence about the efficacy of these educations provided by diabetes nurse educators is inconclusive at present. There is no study demonstrating the efficacy of diabetes education routinely provided by diabetes nurse educators in Turkey. This study is important because it reveals the effect of the education provided by diabetes nurse educators using different methods and for various durations on the self-care behaviors and glycemic control of the patients. Furthermore, it is anticipated that this study will contribute to the literature in terms of demonstrating the efficacy of diabetes education for the benefit of the patients.

The mean age of the patients was 56.19 ± 11.63 years, with 73.3% of them aged < 65 years. Of the total participants, 54.7% were females, 86.9% were married, and 45.5% were primary school graduates. Sixty-three point eight percent of the patients were unemployed, and almost all of them (97.3%) had social security, with 61.5% of them reporting to be from middle-income families. Seven point three percent were living alone, and 82.1% of them were living with their spouse and/or children; 25.4% reported their general health status as good, while 55.8% reported it was moderate. Of the total patients, 20.5% were current smokers; their mean cigarette count per day was 19.16 ± 12.48, and their average smoking duration was 19.69 ± 11.68 years. Seven point six percent reported consuming alcohol; 6.2% consumed it very rarely, 1.3% consumed frequently, and 0.2% consumed it daily. On analysis of the body-mass index (BMI), 36.9% of the patients were found to be overweight (BMI = 25–30 kg/m²), and 45.3% of them were obese (BMI > 30 kg/m²). The mean duration of diabetes in the patients was 10.25 ± 7.48 years. Table 1 shows the disease characteristics of the participants.

The proportion of the patients who received education from the diabetes nurse educator within the last year was 78.5%. Forty-six point seven percent of the participants received diabetes education once, 27.7% received it twice, and 25.6% received it thrice or more. Eighty-four point eight percent of the subjects received individual education, 2.2% received group education, and 13.1% received both individual and group education. The most frequent education provided to the patients was about oral antidiabetic agents and home blood glucose monitoring (78.5%), while the least frequently provided education was about exercise (58.8%) and foot care (61.6%). It was observed that individual education is more common among all education subjects (Table 2).

The mean DSCS score was 83.46 ± 16.22, with 28.3% of the patients having an acceptable level of self-care based on the cutoff value of the scale. Table 3 shows information about the diabetes education of the patients and a comparison of the self-care and HbA1c levels. It shows that education status, frequency, and method are correlated with self-care and glycemic control (p < 0.05). Accordingly, it was observed that the patients who received diabetes education had better self-care and glycemic control than those who did not. In the post-hoc analysis, it was found that the self-care levels of patients who received education more than twice and those who received both individual and group education were better. In addition, it was found that the glycemic control levels of patients who received education thrice or more and those who received both individual and group education were better.

Diabetes is a chronic disease requiring routine and complex individual care [21]. Diabetes education comprises sharing knowledge and skills for controlling the glycemic level to prevent long-term complications and is a valuable strategy to improve the health behaviors of individuals with diabetes mellitus [22, 23]. The present multi-centric study analyzed the effects of education provided to individuals with T2DM by diabetes nurse educators in Turkey and found that the proportion of patients who received education from a diabetes nurse educator within the last year was 78.5%. The study results showing that the diabetes nurse educators who aspire to reach all individuals with diabetes were able to provide education to three out of four patients admitted to healthcare facilities is an encouraging finding. However, the inability to reach all individuals might be related to the lack of diabetes nurse educators in the facilities and the referral being at the discretion of the physician.

In diabetes management, continuity and repetition of the education are as important as the education itself [14, 24]. The present study revealed that almost half of the patients (46.7%) received education only once. The follow-up and treatment of individuals with diabetes mellitus are usually done in outpatient clinics in hospital settings in Turkey. Usually, individuals with diabetes do not regularly return for follow-up visits; hence, they cannot be monitored by healthcare professionals [24]. Although patients are given appointments for further education after the initial education provided by the diabetes nurse educator, patients’ participation in repetitive education might be low. This might be due to the low education level of the patients. In this study, almost half of the patients (45.5%) were primary school graduates. The low level of education might negatively impact the belief about the importance of diabetes education. In addition, the cost of transportation to the hospital might be one of the reasons that reduce participation in repetitive education. In this study, the economic level of approximately half of the patients (55%) was moderate. In general, the findings of the study are important because they show that participation in repetitive education is low in Turkey.

The study revealed that a vast majority of the individuals with diabetes mellitus (84.8%) receive individual education, while the proportion of the individuals receiving group education is low (2.2%). Another study showed that 85.1% of the educational sessions provided by the nurses were individual sessions [13]. It has been reported that compared to individual education, group education has a better effect on improving diabetes health outcomes and is also more economical [25]. A study showed that group education is effective in improving glycemic control and knowledge about diabetes in individuals with T2DM [26]. In contrast, another study showed that individualized diabetes education is more effective than group education in facilitating the control of T2DM [9]. In Turkey, group education is provided at many healthcare facilities under the patient school program. The high proportion of the patients receiving individual education in this study might be because fewer group education sessions were planned due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For successful disease control and treatment of an individual diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, it is important to provide education about the treatment options, the importance of diet and exercise, blood glucose level monitoring, managing unexpected situations, and recognizing and preventing complications [1]. Currently, in-hospital diabetes education models focus only on survival skills, including hypoglycemia, medication training, diet, and blood glucose monitoring [15]. This study demonstrated that patients are most frequently provided education about oral antidiabetic agents and blood glucose monitoring at home (78.5% for both), while education on exercise (58.8%) and foot care (61.6%) is least frequent. In another study, it was highlighted that the learning content provided by the nurses to individuals with diabetes mellitus is consistent with the literature; however, it is lacking in terms of acute and chronic complications of diabetes [13]. In a study investigating the diabetes education provided by in-clinic nurses in Turkey, it was found that the first three education topics covered by the nurses are “the importance of the insulin treatment, insulin injection regions, injection site rotation, side effects of the insulin treatment and insulin storage” (16.0%), “definition and use of the antidiabetic agents” (14.0%), and “the definition and symptoms of diabetes” (13.8%) [27]. Different findings of the studies might be due to the lack of standardized education content provided by the diabetes nurse educators.

Successful diabetes management requires lifelong adherence to self-care [28]. Self-care involves individuals taking necessary steps to sustain their lives, health, and well-being. To control their disease, individuals with diabetes mellitus should adopt self-care activities, including proper diet, regular exercise, blood glucose control, appropriate use of oral antidiabetics, recognizing the effects and adverse effects of insulin treatment, avoiding smoking and alcohol, preventing complications of diabetes, lifelong adherence to anti-diabetes treatment, and attending follow-up visits [1, 10, 16]. Diabetes education is essential for improving self-care in individuals with diabetes [7]. The present study revealed that patients receiving diabetes education have higher levels of self-care. Many studies have also shown that education has a positive effect on self-care in individuals with diabetes mellitus [7, 11, 19, 29]. However, a study reported that although individuals with diabetes who received diabetes education had high self-care level, there was no significant difference between them when compared to the group who did not receive education [30]. Among the in-patients, diabetes self-management education and support programs were conducted to improve the knowledge and treatment compliance of patients under the leadership of the nurses. An increase in the knowledge about diabetes among patients was seen; however, no change was found in their treatment compliance [31]. The present study shows that diabetes education provided by nurses is beneficial in improving the level of self-care.

The aim of diabetes education is to achieve glycemic control and prevent complications. Diabetes education creating awareness about the disease is essential to achieve effective glycemic control [32]. The present study demonstrated that patients receiving diabetes education have better glycemic control levels. The study results are consistent with those reported in the literature. Many studies have reported that individuals with diabetes receiving education have better glycemic control [7, 11, 12, 19, 22, 28, 32‐35]. In the present study, it was observed that education provided by diabetes nurse educators contributes to disease management. The study finding is important as it emphasizes that education is an essential part of the disease management of individuals with diabetes.

This study has some limitations. While the study was performed in 28 public hospitals located in different regions of Turkey, the results cannot be generalized to the general population. In addition, individuals with T2DM were randomly included in the study by the diabetes nurse educators who conducted the study. Since it is a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study, it has an inherent limitation of time. The data about the education of subjects and self-care levels of the individuals with T2DM are self-reported. Additionally, the inability to monitor diabetes education due to the lack of a patient follow-up system is an important limitation.

The present study found that diabetes nurse educators provide diabetes education to approximately three-fourths of the patients in Turkey. Furthermore, it was found that diabetes education is positively correlated with self-care and glycemic control levels among individuals with T2DM. The present study once again emphasized the importance of the diabetes education provided by the nurses though it is not standardized. Nevertheless, practices such as establishing a follow-up system, taking steps to improve the efficiency of the appointment system, establishing and following a standardized diabetes education program under the guidance of the Ministry of Health in Turkey, and increasing the number of diabetes nurse educators in health facilities are necessary to improve the efficiency of the education. In addition, randomized controlled studies evaluating the effects of age, disease duration, and other characteristics on self-care and glycemic control in patients receiving diabetes education are necessary. Further studies are recommended to determine the factors that might affect the efficiency of education provided by diabetes nurse educators.