Dr Minoo Motaghi, Dr Behzad Hamedani, Dr Parvaneh Khorasani, Mr Ahmad Bahrami,
Volume 26, Issue 1 (April & May 2023)
Abstract
Introduction: Today, the increasing prevalence of diabetes and its complications in the elderly is one of the most challenging problems in the health sector. One of the most important strategies for managing diabetes in the elderly is teaching self-care behaviors, which requires competent nurses in the field of diabetes education. The present study was conducted with the aim of determining the effect of empowering nurses on self-care and HbA1c control of elderly people with type 2 diabetes living in nursing homes.
Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted as a single group on 32 nurses and 30 elderly people with type 2 diabetes residing in nursing homes by convenience sampling. Nurses participated in a one-day empowerment workshop on type 2 diabetes. Data collection tools were a researcher-made questionnaire of workshop content to measure nurses' empowerment, Tobert and Glasgow self-care questionnaire and laboratory index HbA1c for the elderly. Data were analyzed using Spss version 20 at the 0.05 level. The present research has been registered with the ethics code IR.IAU.KHUISF.REC.1398.190 in the Ethics Committee of Islamic Azad University - Isfahan Branch (Khorasgan).
Results: Based on the findings, there was a significant difference between nurses' empowerment after the workshop compared to before (P=0.001). The mean scores of elderly before and three months after nurses' empowerment were significant in terms of self-care behaviors (P=0.000) and HbA1c index (P=0.000).
Conclusions: The results showed that the empowerment of nurses has desirable potential to change the outcomes of self-care in elderly people with type 2 diabetes resident in nursing homes, and by focusing on the approach of empowering nurses, positive steps can be taken in the management of diabetes and HbA1c of this group.