The Effects of Self-efficacy Enhancement Program on Health Behaviors among Patients with Diabetes in Nong-Done District, Saraburi Province

Abstract

This research is a quasi-experimental research. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of self-efficacy enhancement program on health behaviors among patients with diabetes. 30 diabetic patients who lived in Nong-Done District, Saraburi Province were recruited based on specific inclusion criteria and equally devided into an experimental group and a control group. The research instruments included 1) the self-efficacy enhancement program developed by the researchers based on Bandura’s Self-efficacy Theory; 2) a manual book of diabetes care; 3) a demographic data questionnaire; 4) a self-efficacy interviewing questionnaire with the reliability of .88; and 5) a health behaviors interviewing questionnaire with the reliability of .75. The experimental group was required to participate in the self-efficacy enhancement program; whereas, the control group received a normal caring. Program implementation and data collection were conducted from November 2013 to January 2014. Data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, paired t-test, and independent t-test.

The research findings revealed that 1) for the experimental group, after the experiment, mean scores of health behavior were statistically significantly higher than those before the experiment (t = 22.760, p < .001); 2) for the control group, after the experiment, mean scores of health behavior were not statistically significantly different from those before the experiment; and 3) after the experiment, mean scores of health behavior of the experimental group were statistically significantly higher than those of the control group (t = 8.028, p < .001).

This study suggested that the program should be promoted among patients with diabetes both in a clinical and community areas, in order to change their lifestyle and health behaviors. Moreover, nurse instructors should draw the results from this study to their students when teaching about chronic disease care.