Distance education and diabetes empowerment: A single-blind randomized control trial.

AIMS: Diabetes is one of the biggest problems in healthcare systems and kills many people every year. Diabetes management is impossible when only utilizing medication. So, patients must be educated to manage their diabetes. This study aims to assess the effect of education by telephone and short message service on empowering patients with type 2 diabetes (primary outcome). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A single-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted in the Urmia diabetes association in Iran. Sixty six participants with definitive diagnosis of type 2 diabetes entered into the study. Patients with secondary health problems were excluded. Patients were selected by simple random sampling then allocated into intervention (n=33) and control (n=33) groups. The intervention group received an educational text message daily and instructive phone calls three days a week for three months along with usual care. The Diabetes Empowerment Scale (DES) with confirmed validity and reliability was used for collecting data. Data was analyzed using SPSS V6.1. Independent t-test, paired t-test and chi-square were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The empowerment of the intervention group compared with the control group significantly improved after three months of distance education (p<0.00, EF=1. 16). CONCLUSIONS: The study findings show that the distance education has a significant effect on empowering patients with type 2 diabetes. Therefore, using distance education along with other diabetes management intervention is highly effective and should be part of the care in diabetes treatment.

The Impact of Team-Based Learning on Nervous System Examination Knowledge of Nursing Students.

INTRODUCTION: Team-based learning is one of the active learning approaches in which independent learning is combined with small group discussion in the class. This study aimed to determine the impact of team-based learning in nervous system examination knowledge of nursing students. METHODS: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 3(rd) grade nursing students, including 5th semester (intervention group) and 6(th) semester (control group). The traditional lecture method and the team-based learning method were used for educating the examination of the nervous system for intervention and control groups, respectively. The data were collected by a test covering 40-questions (multiple choice, matching, gap-filling and descriptive questions) before and after intervention in both groups. Individual Readiness Assurance Test (RAT) and Group Readiness Assurance Test (GRAT) used to collect data in the intervention group. In the end, the collected data were analyzed by SPSS ver. 13 using descriptive and inferential statistical tests. RESULTS: In team-based learning group, mean and standard deviation was 13.39 (4.52) before the intervention, which had been increased to 31.07 (3.20) after the intervention and this increase was statistically significant. Also, there was a statistically significant difference between the scores of RAT and GRAT in team-based learning group. CONCLUSION: Using team-based learning approach resulted in much better improvement and stability in the nervous system examination knowledge of nursing students compared to traditional lecture method; therefore, this method could be efficiently used as an effective educational approach in nursing education.

Effect of a self-management and follow-up program on self-efficacy in patients with multiple sclerosis: a randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common autoimmune disorder of the central nervous system with profound effects on patients' independence and self-efficacy. Then, it is still questionable whether self-management programs in patients with MS affect the patients' self-efficacy. OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to investigate the effect of a self-management program plus regular follow-up on self-efficacy in patients with MS. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A quasi-experimental study was performed on 80 patients with relapsing remitting MS who were randomly allocated to an intervention (n = 40) and a control group (n = 40). The MS self-efficacy scale was completed before and after the intervention. The intervention group was divided into four small subgroups of ten. Then, each subgroup was invited to participate in four training sessions about self-management. During the two months after the self-management sessions, a weekly telephone follow-up was conducted for each patient in the intervention group. The control group did not receive any intervention other than routine care. Data were analyzed using SPSS 11.5. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square, and independent-samples t-testes were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: No significant difference in mean scores of baseline self-efficacy was found between the control (52.90 ± 8.03) and the intervention groups (54.90 ± 9.51) (P = 0.313). However, a significant difference was observed between the control (50.90 ± 5.71) and the intervention groups (59.80 ± 5.27) regarding mean scores of self-efficacy at the end of the study (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Implementing the self-management program plus regular follow-up increased the perception of self-efficacy in patients with MS. Similar self-management programs are recommended to be integrated in the regular caring of patients with MS.