Development of health care models for elderly people with diabetes WatthanaNakhon District Sa Kaeo Province.

Abstract

     This participatory action research aimed to develop a health care model for elderly individuals with diabetes in Watthana Nakhon District, Sa Kaeo Province. The research participants included district/township non-communicable disease control committees and 256 elderly individuals with uncontrolled Type 2 diabetes. The research instruments consisted of group discussions and interviews. The research was conducted over 12 months, with quantitative data analyzed using descriptive statistics and Paired t-tests, while qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis.

     The findings revealed that the developed health care model for elderly individuals with diabetes in Watthana Nakhon District consisted of six key components: 1) promoting self-care by enhancing community and family capacity to provide quality and equitable care, 2) designing an effective service delivery system at all levels, 3) a quality support system for treating complications, 4) a shared database for healthcare professionals to manage patient care, 5) efficient management mechanisms and processes, and 6) collaboration among communities, healthcare units, and relevant organizations. The evaluation results showed a statistically significant increase in the average knowledge of diabetes and self-care behaviors among the elderly participants, as well as a statistically significant reduction in HbA1c levels after using the model.In conclusion, the developed model is appropriate and can be applied to other regions or in the management of other chronic non-communicable diseases.