ABSTRACT
To assess the effect of the 5-days intensive diabetes health education program on metabolic control among Saudi type 2 diabetic patients. The study included 438 individuals, 158[36.1%] females and 280[63.9%] males with type 2 diabetes. All patients completed the 5-days diabetes education program. They did not require any change in their current therapy regimen, had not previously participated in any diabetes education programs, Saudi patients, of both genders, non-pregnant and older than 30 years. They were followed for one year after attending a 5-days structured education program conducted at University Diabetes Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Data were collected for each individual before attending the program, three months later, and one year after completion of the program. After one year, all metabolic parameters had improved significantly [P<0.0001] except for high density lipoprotein[HDL] [P =0.097] as follows: body weight [mean +/- SD] 78.72 +/- 13.77 to 78.11 +/- 13.33 Kg; systolic blood pressure 137.69 +/- 15.56 to 129.5 +/- 15.09 mmHg; diastolic blood pressure 77.27 +/- 8.11 to 72.9 +/- 7.30 mmHg; fasting blood sugar 10 +/- 2.62 to 8.19 +/- 2.04 mmol/l; HbA1c 8.78% +/- 1.78% to 7.87% +/- 1.56% ; triglycerides 1.98 +/- 0.9 to 1.51 +/- 0.67 mmol/l; total cholesterol 4.77 +/- 0.83 to 3.9 +/- 0.83mmol/l; low density lipoprotein 2.71 +/- 0.66 to 2.15 +/- 0.59mmol/l, and high density lipoprotein improved by an increase from 1.28 +/- 0.4 to 1.31 +/- 0.24 mmol/l. This study demonstrates that intensive education program provided by a trained professional healthcare team is an effective approach and reinforces the need for implementing such education program as an essential part for metabolic control among diabetic patients.
ABSTRACT
Health promotion is the most important element of primary health care. Therefore, it is essential for the health team to apply such activity. To describe a newly established health promotion clinic at primary health care centers, in Abha city, KSA. The study was conducted during the year 2009. The files of 429 individuals were reviewed after one year from attending the health promotion clinics in Abha city, KSA. Master sheet was designed based on the relevant items of the file. The health promotion services used in the study were based on the recommendation of the relevant guidelines. Data entry and analysis was carried out using Statistical Program for the Social Sciences [SPSS]. P-values less than 0.05 were selected for statistical significance. After one year, the percentage of the individuals who intake imbalanced diet and did not perform any type of physical activity was more than 90% while 8% are currently smokers and 14% had depression. Clinical examination and investigation revealed that more than one quarter of our subjects were overweight. Obesity was 42% in males versus 51% in females [P<0.04]. Pre-hypertension and hypertension were detected among 44 and 12% respectively. About one fifth of our subjects had pre-diabetes 21% and 3% were confirmed to have diabetes mellitus. Diet and physical activity counseling was given to all participants while referral to concerned clinics was done for individuals who suffer from high blood sugar, abnormal lipid profile, obesity and depression. This study demonstrated that health promotion clinics provided by trained professional health care team can be used as a new approach for early detection and management of the common health problems in primary health care centers