Effects of Face-to-Face and Telephone-Based Family-Oriented Education on Self-Care Behavior and Patient Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background. education of patients and their families is the cornerstone of effective diabetes care. the present study aimed to compare the effects of a face-to-face and telephone-based family-oriented educational program on self-care behavior and patient outcomes in type 2 diabetes patients. methods. in the present randomized controlled trial,90 type 2 diabetes patients were randomly divided into three groups of 30 participants: a face-to-face education group,a telephone-based education group,and a control group. the educational program lasted for 3 months. outcomes evaluated included self-care,fasting blood sugar,hemoglobin a1c,cholesterol,and triglyceride. results. the overall self-care scores in the intervention groups were significantly higher than that in the control group (p=0.0001). in addition,lipid profiles significantly improved in the interventions compared to the control (p<0.05). comparing the two interventions showed better results for the face-to-face group regarding dietary adherence and physical activity,but the latter group had comparable results in blood glucose monitoring,foot care,and cholesterol level. conclusions. this study shows the beneficiary effects of a family-oriented education on self-care and patient outcomes. it also shows the potential value of low-cost telephone technology in delivering effective diabetes care. © 2017 masumeh hemmati maslakpak et al.