The role of patient needs and preferences for instructional approaches in self-management of diabetes

This study addresses the issue of individualized instruction, viewing preferences for instructional approaches as an instance of aptitude-treatment interaction. In such interaction, diabetic patients' needs were held to affect their preference for either a structured or unstructured approach to instruction for self-management. Forty-six adult diabetic patients completed the Personality Research Form E and ranked four types of instructional approaches as portrayed in descriptive statements. Need levels of patients preferring structured and unstructured instruction were compared by means of t tests. Results indicated that one of the four composite-need scales, the need for control, significantly (P = 0.003) differentiated structured and unstructured groups. Congruence between certain needs and preferred instructional approaches was thus demonstrated.