Promoting Physical Activity in Type 2 Diabetic Patients: A Theory-Based Intervention

Regular physical activity reduces the risk of death and prevents cardiovascular diseases in diabetic patients. Thus، designing behavior change programs is an important factor to increase behavioral skills and enhance self-care among these patients. This study analyzed the effects of an eight-week educational intervention based on the transtheoretical model (TTM) on improving physical activity of type 2 diabetic patients in Hamadan، Iran. In an interventional study، 50 type 2 diabetic patients (mean age: 50. 07 ± 6. 64 year old، 88% married) who did not have regular physical activity and were in pre-action stage of the change model were randomly selected and allocated to two groups of intervention and control (n = 25 in each group). Data was collected using the TTM questionnaire. In order to improve physical activity، an eight-week educational program was conducted for the intervention group. Routine educations were also planned for the control group by diabetes research center. One month later، the participants refilled the questionnaires and data was analyzed using SPSS16. There were no significant differences between the intervention and control groups in regular physical activity and TTM constructs before the educational intervention. After the education، physical activity stages of change significantly increased in the intervention group compared to the control group. Mean scores of cognitive and behavioral processes of change and physical activity self-efficacy in the intervention group increased significantly more than the control group. However، increases in decisional balance in the two groups were not significantly different. Moreover، the two groups were not significantly different in terms of self-reevaluation level. According to our findings، educating diabetic patients based on the TTM improves their stages of change and stabilizes regular physical activity behavior. Therefore، management of type 2 diabetes will require educational interventions to improve physical activity based on the behavior-changing theories.