Evaluation of Nutrition Education for Diabetes Mellitus Management of Older Adults

Kang, Hyun Joo; Shin, Eun Mi; Kim, Kyung Won

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is the prevalent disease among older adults. The purpose of this study was to implement and evaluate the nutrition education program for diabetes mellitus patients aged 60 and over. The one group pretest and posttest design was employed to evaluate the program effectiveness. Nutrition education program for diabetes mellitus patients was carried out at the public healthy center in Guri city. The 38 out of 63 patients completed education program. They received four sessions of group education during four weeks. Nutrition education materials (booklet, leaflet) for older adults were provided to participants. Data about blood glucose, blood pressure, nutrition and diabetes mellitus knowledge, dietary behavior, dietary intake by 24-hour recalls were collected before and after nutrition education to evaluate the program effectiveness. All data were statistically analyzed using SAS package (ver.8.2) and significant difference was evaluated by chi-square-test, paired t-test and Wilcoxon signed rank test. Study results showed that blood pressure and blood glucose were slightly decreased after nutrition education but they did not reach statistical significance. There were positive changes in nutrition knowledge and dietary behavior. The total score of nutrition and diabetes knowledge increased significantly (p < 0.001), and the total score of dietary behavior was improved (p < 0.05) after nutrition education. Dietary intakes of most of nutrients examined were not significantly different between preand post-test. Based on study results, it appears that nutrition education program for the aged diabetes mellitus patients might effectively increase nutrition knowledge, dietary behavior and diet quality. This nutrition education program can be used at the public health centers or senior centers for the management of diabetes mellitus for older adults.