Evaluation of the follow-up of diabetes mellitus patients registered to home health services in 2023 - Samsun province example

Aim: Our study aims to evaluate the follow-up status recommended in the TEMD diabetes guideline of diabetic patients registered in the Home Health Services Unit of Samsun University Samsun Training and Research Hospital in 2023. Materials and methods: Our research is a retrospective, descriptive, cross-sectional study and was conducted between 01.05.2024 and 30.06.2024 at Samsun University Samsun Education and Research Hospital Home Health Services Unit. The sociodemographic data of a total of 375 patients registered in this unit who met our inclusion criteria and whether the physical examination, consultation and laboratory tests that should be performed in the TEMD diabetes guideline were performed at regular intervals as recommended were recorded in the data form by scanning the hospital automation system and patient files and the obtained data were analyzed using the SPSS 25.0 package program. p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 375 patients were included in the study. 72.5% of these patients were women. The average age was found to be 77.17 years. The duration of diabetes diagnosis was longer than 10 years in 53.6% of the patients. 44.1% were found to be overweight. 80.0% did not use any nutritional products. 46.9% of the patients were completely bedridden. The most common comorbidity other than diabetes was HT with 80.5%. Blood sugar was regulated in 51.7% of the patients, and this rate was significantly higher in patients using only OAD (p<0.001). When the follow-up parameters were examined, the rate of BMI measurement every 3-6 months was 5.1%, the rate of annual fundus examination was 29.1%, the rate of annual dental examination was 12.5%, the rate of dietician consultation every 3- 6 months was 7.2%, the rate of HbA1c measurement every 3-6 months was 29.9%, and the rate of annual albumin/creatinine measurement in spot urine was 7.5%. Conclusion: In our study, it was observed that the follow-ups of diabetic patients receiving ESH according to the diabetes guideline recommendations were inadequate. Ensuring that the home health care team receives regular training in terms of increasing diabetes awareness and informing diabetic patients regularly about medication use and complications will contribute to diabetes management. Keywords: Diabetes Mellitus, Home Care Services, disease management