Assess the Effects of Diabetes Education Module on Emotional Distress Among Patient of Diabetes Mellitus at Selected Area of Rural Waghodiya Taluka

Abstract

Introduction: Diabetes is a major global health crisis, with India having the second-highest number of diabetics worldwide. Despite advancements in modern treatments, about half of diabetic patients struggle to achieve optimal metabolic control, leading to increased risk of complications and emotional distress. Aim: This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a diabetes education module on emotional distress among patients in a selected rural area of Waghodiya Taluka, India. Methodology: The study utilized a quantitative research approach with a quasi-experimental design. A convenience sampling method was employed to select 120 diabetic patients from the chosen rural area. The Standardized Problem Areas in Diabetes-20 scale was used for assessment. The results indicated that the intervention group showed a significant reduction in emotional distress after the education module. Result finding: The study observed that in the control group, a significant majority (76.7%) experienced severe diabetes distress, while 23.3% reported low stress levels. Conversely, in the intervention group, the majority (61.7%) reported low stress, with 38.3% experiencing severe diabetes distress. Post-test results in the control group revealed that all participants (100%) had severe diabetes distress, while in the intervention group, the majority (98.3%) reported low stress, and only 1.7% had severe distress. The impact of the education module on emotional distress in the intervention group was statistically assessed using a paired t-test. The mean posttest score (18.13±1.983) was significantly higher than the pretest mean score (8.53±3.013), with a mean difference of 9.59. The obtained t-value (27.36, df=99, p=0.001) indicated a highly significant reduction in emotional distress after the intervention. Notably, the study findings suggested that the education module effectively reduced emotional distress in diabetes mellitus patients in the intervention group. Additionally, a significant association was found between type of family and marital status (p<0.05). However, no significant associations were observed with other demographic variables, including age, gender, educational status, occupation, religion, family income, family history, previous knowledge, source of information, duration of diabetes, and medication status in the pre-test level of emotional distress among diabetes mellitus patients in the control group and post-test level in the intervention group, as determined by the chi-square test.