Impact of a Conversational Map as an Educational Strategy to Improve the Metabolic Control of Patients with Diabetes mellitus type 2

Abstract

Objective: to evaluate the impact of a conversational map about Diabetes mellitus type 2 (dm2). Material and methods: longitudinal, prospective, quasi-experimental, comparative study, made at a Family Medicine health Unit from February to August, 2011. 30 diabetic patients, who were part of a mutual help group, voluntarily participated. An interactive educational explanation was presented using the conversational map “Eat healthy and stay active”. It was assessed knowledge and clinical indicators (ci), anthropometric (ai) and clinical laboratory (cli), before and after the educational intervention with an interval of three months. Results: an important impact was found in the glucose indicators (p=0.01), an average of diastolic blood pressure (p=0.009) and level of knowledge (p=0.001). Conclusions: educational interventions given to patients with dm2 significantly improved the ai and cli. It is confirmed that education in chronic illnesses such as dm2 is essential to improve the level of knowledge and understanding about the disease, so skills can be developed to make changes to their life style.