Development of a Pharmaceutical Care Model for Patients with Diabetes through Community Participation at Kaset Wisai Hospital, Roi Et Province

Abstract

Purposes: To explore the existing problems and needs, develop a community participatory pharmaceutical care model for patients with diabetes, implement and refine the model, and disseminate the final version.

Study design: This study employed a Research and Development (R&D) design.

Materials and Methods: The primary target groups included 50 diabetic patients and 34 village health volunteers (VHVs). The research was conducted in four phases from December 2023 to December 2024. Data were collected using questionnaires, focus group interview guides, and activity logs. Quantitative data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and percentage differences, while qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis.

Main finding: 1) The current care system for diabetic patients faced several limitations, particularly the short, theory-based training for VHVs, which proved ineffective in knowledge transmission to the community. Additionally, most patients were elderly and faced challenges in managing their medications, particularly insulin administration. 2)The developed pharmaceutical care model consisted of four core processes: T-S-D-A (Tell, Show, Do, Assess). 3)Outcomes from the intervention showed that VHVs' knowledge regarding rational drug use increased by 9.01%; their overall performance in pharmaceutical home visits was 80.00% accurate. Among diabetic patients, insulin injection skills reached 72.00%, and their average HbA1c levels decreased by 3.44%, and 4) Following the model revision, the original T-S-D-A framework was extended to T-S-D-A–E&E by adding two additional components: Evaluate and Empower, with a strong emphasis on digital health technologies such as tele pharmacy and mobile applications.

Conclusion and Recommendations: The findings demonstrate that the developed innovation is effective and practical. Therefore, it is recommended that relevant stakeholders adopt and scale the model for broader implementation in community healthcare settings.