The Impact of Education Based on Self-efficacy Theory on Health Literacy, Self-efficacy and Self-care Behaviors in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is one of the most important public health challenges. Self-efficacy and health literacy play a key role in self-care for diabetic patients. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of training based on self-efficacy theory on health literacy, self-care behaviors and self-efficacy in patients with type 2 diabetes.
This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 70 patients with type 2 diabetes that were randomly divided into two groups of experimental and control. Data were evaluated with standard questionnaires including TOHFLA, SDSCA, CIDS. The educational programs were implemented for the experimental group, then after the intervention, the results were analyzed by SPSS16 software.
Before the intervention, the two groups did not show a significant different in terms of mean scores for self-efficacy (t=0.29, P=0.77), self-care behavior (t=0.42, p= 0.67) and health literacy scores (t=0.38, p=0.69). However, after the educational intervention, the mean scores of the test group increased and both groups indicated a significant difference in mean scores of self-efficacy (t=0.099, p=0.001), self-care behavior (t=3.13, p=0.003) and health literacy scores (t=2.66, p=0.01).
The results of this study showed that educational intervention based on self-efficacy theory is effective to improve self-efficacy and health literacy in diabetic patients. Therefore, the use of self-efficacy strategies is recommended for control programs in health care among diabetic people.