SELF CARE AMONG TYPE 2 DIABETIC PATIENTS ATTENDING PRIMARY HEALTH CARE CENTER, CAIRO GOVERNORATE, EGYPT .

Introduction : Self-care education is an essential element in the treatment of a person with diabetes and its importance is acknowledged in several studies carried out in communities with different socioeconomic and cultural profiles. Aim of the study: Evaluate the effect of health education regarding diabetic self care on patient glycemic control . Method : This was a cross sectional study which was conducted to type 2 diabetic patients attending to two randomly selected family health centers of Cairo Governorate Diabetic patients after obtaining their consent to participate. . Patients included if their age between 30-70 , and excluded if they had terminal illness, active psychotic illness or permanents and lactating females. They were interviewed using predesigned questionnaire which was adopted from Stanford patient Education Research Center which was translated into Arabic. Self care education was conducted for individual patients at the clinics for 30 -40 minutes. Blood pressure, BMI, HGA1c glucose tolerance test was assessed before and after the educational program with 6 months apart. Results : Parameters of diabetic control as fasting blood glucose, two hours postprandial, HGA1c , blood pressure and BMI showed statistical significant improvement after the educational program . Symptoms of uncontrolled diabetes as polydypsia , intense hunger, dry mouth and frequent urination at night were improved after the interventional educational program . All other parameters of self control as foot care and restrict following diet regimen were also improved. Conclusion Focused educational program regarding self care for diabetes significantly improved diabetic control parameters.