The Effectiveness of an Educational Nursing Intervention on the Adherence to Therapeutic Regimen in Patients with Diabetes: an Interventional Study

Abstract

Abstract This study aims to assess the effect of an educational intervention performed by nurses on adherence to the therapeutic regimen (drug and non-drug) in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) type 2. This is an analytical and interventional prospective quantitative study. A convenience sample was studied, composed of 102 participants with DM type 2, followed in a primary health care unit in the central region of Portugal. Data collection was carried out by applying the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities Measure (SDSCAM) and the Psychometric Measure of Adherence to Treatments scale (PMAT) before and one month after the educational nursing intervention. Statistically significant differences were found between the first assessment and the assessment after the nursing educational intervention, in dimensions D1: General Food, D2: Specific Food, D4: Foot Care, and D5: Medications of the SDSCAM, and in the total value of the PMAT, revealing that, in general, the participants in the study improved in their self-care and in adherence to treatments after the educational session. So, an educational nursing intervention focused on adherence to the drug and non-drug therapeutic regimen, which involved the perspectives of the person with DM and family, will be effective in reaching the best potential in health, producing positive effects in changing diabetic patients’ behaviours and habits.