Effectiveness of a community-based diabetes self-management education (DSME) program in a rural agricultural setting

Introduction The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of diabetes self-management education (DSME) in a rural agricultural town. Methods In this prospective, education-intervention trial, 85 adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus from villages randomly assigned to DSME and 70 from villages assigned to standard care participated. The DSME group underwent a curriculum delivered by peer educators; those in the standard group received usual advice. Outcome measures were anthropometric, biochemical, health behaviors, and medication use data taken at baseline then after three and six months. Results DSME group had a lower median A1C after three and six months. After six months, there was a 0.5% median A1C reduction in DSME group and a 0.25% increase in the standard group. There were more participants in DSME group with A1C ⩽7.0% after three and six months. By the third month, there were more participants in DSME group performing foot examination. Conclusion DSME in this rural agricultural town improved glycemic control and promoted foot examination.