Management of Diabetes Mellitus among Elderly Men and Women-Impact of Intervention Programme

The present research aimed at studying the effect of an educational module as an intervention programme in the management of Diabetes Mellitus among the elderly with regard to the improvement in their knowledge, attitude and practices. The sample constituted 80 elderly of whom 40 were men and 40 were women in the age group of 65 to 76 years. Structured Interview Schedule (SIS) developed by the investigators on knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) with regard to diabetes was used for assessment. The module of educational programme was developed by the investigators for the benefit of diabetic people covering different aspects in the management of the disease. A repeated measure design was followed; accordingly, the sample were administered SIS to assess their initial KAP and they were provided intervention programme for a period of two months. Later, two months after the intervention, post assessment was conducted administering the same SIS. A comparison of pre and post test scores on KAP regarding diabetes was made. The statistical significance of mean difference in the scores was carried out using ‘t’ ratios. The findings revealed that both men and women respondents and the two age groups showed higher scores after intervention, on KAP regarding diabetes, than the pre intervention scores and individual differences in the score was also reduced considerably during post test.