THE EFFECT OF IN-PERSON AND MULTIMEDIA SHORT MESSAGE BASED EDUCATION IN TELEGRAM ON FASTING BLOOD GLUCOSE AND GLYCOSYLATED HEMOGLOBIN IN PATIENTS WITH INSULIN-DEPENDENT DIABETES

Patients with diabetes need to be educated efficiently and effectively in order to increase their quality of life. According to modern technological developments, multimedia message-based education is considered as one of the effective educational strategies. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of multimedia-based education in the Telegram application and in-person method on fasting blood glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin levels in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes. In this clinical trial study, a sample of 66 patients with insulin-dependent diabetes who referred to the emergency department and the clinic of Sina hospital in Tabriz, were randomly assigned in double blocks into two groups: in-person education and multimedia-based education. Data gathering tools included a demographic form, glycosylated hemoglobin and fasting blood glucose were measured before and three months after the educational intervention. Data were analyzed with independent and paired samples t-tests. The results indicated that there were no significant differences in the mean values of glycosylated hemoglobin and fasting blood glucose between two groups before and after education(P >0.05). In within-group comparison, there was a statistically significant difference in the multimedia message group on the reduction of mean values of glycosylated hemoglobin (p= 0.02) but these values differences were not significant in in-person group (p= 0.33). Multimedia-based education in the Telegram application compared to in-person education improves self-care and reduces the mean values of glycosylated hemoglobin in diabetic patients. This educational context can be used to facilitate the self-care education process to patients.