Families about Continuous Care at Hospitals Affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in 2014

Continuous care is a regular and continuous process for establishing an interactive and effective communication between clients (as the receivers of continuous care) and health care providers (nurses) for identifying the clients’ needs and problems, sensitizing them to accept and perform continuous health behaviors, and improving their health status. This study aimed to compare the perception of patients with type 2 diabetes and their families regarding continuous care at hospitals affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. This descriptive-analytical study included 140 patients with type 2 diabetes and 140 family members at Isfahan hospitals (Alzahra, Amin, khorshid, and Isa Ibn Maryam hospitals). The subjects were admitted to the hospitals in 2014 and received continuous care during their hospital stay and after hospital discharge. A questionnaire was used for data collection after confirming its reliability and validity. Descriptive and inferential statistics (Friedman and correlation coefficient) were applied, using SPSS. The findings of this study showed that the mean score of familiarization (54.32±14.74) and sensitization (17.57±8.61) were higher in family members than patients. However, the mean perception of control (104.62±23.39) and evaluation (33.49±7.03) were higher in patients than family members. Patient and family involvement in the implementation of continuous care and identification of short- and long-term complications of the disease lead to a greater understanding of the disease and the accurate implementation of healthcare plan. Therefore, nurses should run training programs for patients and their family members.