EVALUACIÓN DE LA EFECTIVIDAD DE LA UNIDAD DE EDUCACIÓN DIABETOLÓGICA DEL HOSPITAL DE ALGECIRAS

Background: Diabetic Education is a basic part of treating Diabetes Mellitus and is intended to improve a patient’s quality of life. An analysis was made of the effectiveness of a diabetic education program at the Algeciras Regional Hospital. Methods: Results achieved by the Diabetic Education Unit were measured according to frequency of hospital visik. A parallel study was therefore carried out on the Unit’s first 86 patients and an analysis made of the percentage of patients admitted as well as the period of hospltalization, four years before the Diabetic Program was carned out and four years later. Results: The 20.7% rate of patients admltted four years before the program was reduced to 6.1% in the four folloming years (IC 95% of the difference between 0.05.5 and 0.170). A significant decrease (p<0.001) was also observed in the period of hospitalization, before and after the program, which was quantified in 3.54 days/patient in four years (IC 95%: I .02 to 5.56 days). Conclusions: The educational program reduced complications of the disease and improved quality of life