| The purpose of the present study was to measure the impact of diabetes self-management instruction alone, and in combination with diabetes education, on glucose control among diabetic patients at a local community clinic. The researcher of the study was particularly interested in assessing whether self-management goals and diabetes classes positively influence A1C values in this sample.;For this study, the medical charts of 131 patients at Centro San Vicente Health Clinic, a Federally Qualified Community Health Center in El Paso, Texas were reviewed. In addition to collecting A1c values at pretest (baseline) and at three and six months post intervention, the study also collected other measures such as height and weight, as well as demographic characteristics, to examine their association with A1C values. Participants self-selected into one of four intervention modalities including a brief self-management (SM) session, 8 weeks of diabetes education, the combination of SM and education, or no intervention.;After reviewing 131 patient medical charts, participants in both the SM intervention and combined intervention had a significant decline in A1c values, whereas participants in the education-only and no-intervention did not change. This retrospective study showed that SM alone or in combination with education may play a valuable role in glucose control. Results are discussed in relation to implementing effective programs for greater diabetes management. |
