Opinions of diabetes education nurses in the Mediterranean Region on coaching approach: A qualitative research

As diabetes continues to rise in prevalence and remains a lifelong chronic condition, individuals need not only medical treatment but also an effective self-management process to cope with the disease. Although evidence supporting the effectiveness of health coaching in diabetes management has increased in both national and international literature in recent years, there is a lack of research on how this approach is implemented in practice and on the perspectives of healthcare professionals, particularly trained nurses. Aim of this study is to explore the perspectives of diabetes nurse educators, who have received coaching training and are working in public hospitals in the Mediterranean Region, regarding the coaching approach. The research was conducted using a phenomenological design, one of the qualitative research methods, and data were analyzed using content analysis. In-depth, semi-structured one-on-one interviews were conducted with seven volunteer diabetes nurse educators, all of whom had received coaching training and were working in public hospitals across eight different provinces in the Mediterranean Region. The data were collected through audio recordings, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using Maxqda software. As a result of the analysis, five main themes and twenty sub-themes were identified. These main themes are: perceptions of the coaching approach, appropriateness of its use, challenges encountered during implementation, contributions of the coaching approach from the nurses' perspective, and contributions from the patients' perspective. The nurses reported that the coaching approach was effective in the patient education process, increased patients' awareness, and created a participatory learning environment. However, they also pointed out several challenges in practice, including lack of time, low patient motivation, and insufficient institutional support. The study findings suggest that the coaching approach is a powerful method for providing individualized patient education within professional nursing practice. Nurses stated that the approach enhanced patients' self-management skills and supported a more effective treatment process. Keywords: Diabetes management, health coaching, diabetes nurse educator, self-management, qualitative research.