The effects of education and telephone follow-up provided to patients with diabetes on metabolic control

The Effects of Education and Telephone Follow-Up Provided to Patients with Diabetes on Metabolic Control Objective: This study aimed to examine the effects of diabetes education and telephone follow-up provided to patients with diabetes on their metabolic control. Material and method: This study was carried out with a pretest-posttest pre experimental model. The population of the study included adult patients who presented to the Diabetes and Endocrinology Outpatient Clinic at İnönü University Turgut Özal Medical Center for diabetes treatment between September 2022 and November 2023. After determining the minimum required sample size by power analysis, the study was completed with 157 patients with diabetes (77 in the experimental group, 80 in the control group). The patients in the experimental group were not only given diabetes education but also sent diet and exercise reminders via messaging 2 times a week for 3 months. The patients in the control group received only the routine care practices of the clinic. Results: Significant differences were observed between the pretest and posttest values of the patients with diabetes who were provided with telephone follow-up in terms of their weight, body mass index, diastolic blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, postprandial blood glucose, and HbA1c results (p<0.05). In the same group, no significant difference was observed between the pretest and posttest weight circumference, systolic blood pressure, cholesterol, HDL, triglyceride, or LDL levels of the patients (p>0.05). While there were significant differences between the pretest and posttest values of the patients who were not provided with telephone follow-up in terms of their systolic blood pressure, HbA1c, and HDL results (p<0.05), no significant difference was observed in other values in the same group (p>0.05). Conclusion: In this study, it was concluded that diabetes education and telephone follow-up provided to individuals with diabetes had a positive effect on their metabolic control. Keywords: Diabetes, Education, Telephone Follow-Up, Metabolic Control, Nursing