Evaluation of Community Based Diabetes Self-Management Program in South Florida from Year 2008 - 2012

Background:In 2010, 27% of older adults had diabetes in United States. Self-Management is an integral part of diabetes care. To promote self-management behavior, the Healthy Aging Regional Collaborative (HARC) offered Diabetes Self-Management program (DSMP) and its Spanish counterpart Manejo de su Diabetes (MDSD) across South Florida. Aim of programs is to increase participants’ ability to manage their diseases.

Methods:Eight HARC member agencies delivered 140 workshops (DSMP=62, MDSD=78) in 95 locations throughout South Florida. Workshops consisted of six, 2.5-hour sessions offered once per week for 6-weeks. DSMP/MDSD were implemented in one group pre-posttest design. A total of 1,686 older adults aged 60 or above who had diabetes participated either in DSMP (n=786) or MDSD (n=917) workshops. Participant outcomes were assessed using repeated measures general linear model.

Results:Approximately 15% participants had a significant change in their confidence to prevent discomfort from interfering with daily-activities, use relaxation techniques to feel better (13.1%), and manage emotional difficulties (11.8%). In addition, 30% of participants reported significant increase in time spent doing physical activity. Positive changes were reported for DSMP outcomes at p<0.05; self-efficacy to manage disease (D=0.851), self-efficacy to manage emotions (D=0.976), social/role activities limitations (D=0.823), and time spent walking (D=0.518). Statistically significant results (p<0.05) were found for MDSD, self-efficacy to manage disease (D=0.864), self-efficacy to manage emotions (D=0.972), and social/role activities limitations (D=0.820).

Conclusion: Finding suggests that DSMP and MDSD were successfully adapted in South Florida. In addition, participants significantly improved on outcome measures establishing evidence in support of program effectiveness.