Effectiveness of a Structured Teaching Programme on Knowledge Regarding Prevention of Complications of Diabetes among Elderly Diabetic Patients

Abstract

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is one of the leading chronic metabolic disorders worldwide and represents a major public health challenge, particularly among the elderly population. Elderly diabetic patients are highly susceptible to both microvascular and macrovascular complications because of advancing age, prolonged disease duration, associated comorbidities, and inadequate awareness regarding preventive measures. Improving patients’ knowledge through structured educational interventions may enhance self-care practices and reduce diabetes-related complications. This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a Structured Teaching Programme (STP) on knowledge regarding the prevention of complications of diabetes among elderly diabetic patients.
Methods: A quantitative research approach with a pre-experimental one-group pre-test and post-test design was adopted. The study was conducted among 60 elderly diabetic patients residing in ADDAGUTTA urban community in Hyderabad, Telangana. Participants were selected using a non-probability purposive sampling technique. A structured knowledge questionnaire was administered before the intervention to assess baseline knowledge. Following the pre-test, a Structured Teaching Programme on prevention of diabetic complications was implemented. A post-test using the same questionnaire was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis, including paired t-test and chi-square test.
Results: The mean pre-test knowledge score was 16.20 ± 2.06, whereas the mean post-test knowledge score increased to 31.91 ± 3.60. The mean improvement in knowledge score was 15.71. The calculated paired t-value was 35.49, which was statistically significant at the 0.05 level of significance, indicating that the Structured Teaching Programme significantly improved participants’ knowledge regarding prevention of diabetic complications.
Conclusion: The Structured Teaching Programme was highly effective in improving the knowledge of elderly diabetic patients regarding prevention of complications of diabetes mellitus. Health education interventions should be incorporated into routine community-based diabetic care to promote preventive practices and improve long-term health outcomes among elderly individuals.