Waiting room project: a proposal for diabetes education

Abstract

Education is an essential aspect of diabetic care. For this, many strategies have been searched. The objectives of the present study were to describe “The Waiting Room Project”, a proposal based on using the time in which the patient waits for individual attendance, to promote Diabetes Education; and to evaluate the clinical and epidemiological profile of diabetic participants of this project. Twenty meetings were conducted from March to October 2006, with 350 patients followed-up at the Diabetes Clinics of Walter Cantídio University Hospital-UFC, and their companions. Of these, 76 randomly assigned patients were interviewed. The meetings occurred on each Friday, in 2 sessions of approximately half hour, which were coordinated by a multidisciplinary team, and took into account 25 patients each. At the end, a breakfast was served and used for nutritional education. Among the interviewed participants, women prevailed (85.5%), with mean age of 60.4±9.1 years, and average time of diagnosis of 10.6±5.9 years. In relation to treatment, 40.7% used insulin, 63.1% used oral anti-diabetics and 9.2% only adopted life style changes. Drugs compliance was present in only 47.8% of the participants and the majority (67.1%) did not practice physical activities. Regarding to the diet, only 31.5% fully adhered to it. More than 75% of the participants could read and write, and earned a minimum wage or less. From the observations derived from practice, one may perceive: a greater motivation of the patients after each meeting, a more active participation in doctor’s appointments and an increasing interest on their disease and care. To provide the participation of diabetic patients in their treatments, stimulating self-care, is a challenge to be reached by all health units, and that can be favored by strategies like this described.