A Study on Sustainability of Knowledge, Self Care Behavior, and Self-efficacy after Self-help Group Program for Hypertension and diabetes

Kim Jung-Hee

Department of Epidemiology and Health Promotion
Graduate school of Public Health
Kyungpook National University
Daegu, Korea
(supervised by Professor Kim, Keon-Yeop)

(Abstract)
This study was to identify the level of knowledge related to disease, self care behavior, and self-efficacy would last for the graduates of self-help group program for hypertension and diabetes after a certain period passed. In addition, this study was to use it as improvement direction of future self-help group program for hypertension and diabetes and basic data to prepare for the effective follow-up strategy.
This study was to do telephone survey as an object of 86 people (41 with hypertension and 45 with diabetes) except the people who did not agree on the research and was difficult to investigate due to the deafness among 119 graduates of self-help group program for hypertension and diabetes at the health support service for chronic disease in 2015 in 12 branches belonging to D regional headquarter of National Health Insurance Service.
As a result of comparing the level of self care behavior for hypertension and diabetes immediately after completing the program and after a certain period, there was no difference. However, this study has found out that the knowledge and self-efficacy significantly decreased.
The knowledge level related to hypertension was lower to 1.46 point for man after a certain period. The score for woman decreased more to 2.08 point compared with the score for man. In case of aging class in over 71 years old, the score decreased more than that of other age groups after a certain period because the score was lowered to 2.40 point. In case of people with living together family, the knowledge level decreased from 5.97±1.61 to 4.17±1.07. On the other hand, in case of people without living together family, it decreased from 6.00±2.00 to 3.83±1.16. As a result, the knowledge level for people without living together family decreased more. Furthermore, the width of decrease by people with below a middle school diploma was larger than that by other academic groups. This study has shown that the knowledge level for people with less than 5-years'' disease period decreased more than that for people who have suffered from hypertension much longer as 6.13±1.76 immediately after completing the group and 4.07±1.10 at a certain period passed. As to the level of hypertension self-efficacy about ''I can have my food as bland as possible'', the response rate including ''Moderate intensity'' and ''Very severe intensity'' was 87.8% immediately after completing the self-help group. This study has found out that the response rate including ''Moderate intensity'' and ''Very severe intensity'' was lowered as 65.6% at a certain period passed.
The knowledge level related to diabetes significantly decreased from 4.49±0.62 immediately after completing the self-help group program to 4.00±1.08 at a certain period passed. Among the items of self-efficacy level for people with diabetes, the self-efficacy level of an item ''I can do diet therapy by making out a menu (by using food exchange lists)'' decreased most from 6.73±1.97 immediately after completing the group to 5.73±1.75 at a certain period passed.
In case of self-help group program for hypertension and diabetes, it requires the method to increase the knowledge and self-efficacy continuously based on the hypertension patients with short disease period and development of effective disease-management-program based on the elderly who had low educational achievements or lived alone. In addition, this researcher considers it as it needs the development of self-help group program which can help in order that the patients can do actual dietary control on their own.