The Effect of Model-Based Self-Management Program 5A on Self-Efficacy of Elderly Patients with Diabetes

Diabetes is one of the chronic diseases in older age-groups. The most important therapeutic principle in these patients is self-management and self-efficacy since the adherence to self-management models increases self-efficacy and quality of life in diabetic elderly people. This study aimed to investigate the effect of self-management program based on a 5A model on self-efficacy in elderly patients with diabetes referring to Razi Clinic, Ghaemshahr, Iran, in 2018.

This classical experimental study was performed on 90 diabetic elderly patients who were divided into two groups of experimental and control. The experimental group received 12 training sessions of 30-45 minutes on a weekly basis. On the other hand, the control group received routine training. The data were collected using the standard questionnaire, and subsequently, they were analyzed in SPSS software using descriptive statistics (i.e., tables, mean, and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (i.e., independent t-test, paired t-test, and ANCOVA).

According to the results of the independent t-test, there was no significant difference between two groups before and after intervention (P=0.47). However, a significant difference was observed between the two groups after intervention (P=0.001). Moreover, the incubation test showed a significant difference with the elimination of pre-test effect (P<0.01 and Eta=0.16). In total, 16% of the changes in self-efficacy could be due to the possibility of implementing a self-management model.

Considering the self-efficacy of the 5A model in patients with diabetes, this non-medical method can be used as an efficient and cost-effective intervention in patient education program.