A 7 day inpatient diabetes education program improves quality of life and glycemic control 12 months after discharge

Aims: For long-term management of diabetes, patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus require a high level of treatment adherence, which is associated with treatment satisfaction and their quality of life (QOL). To achieve it, patient education about diabetes self-management is essential. We routinely conduct a 7 day inpatient diabetes education program and administer the diabetes treatment-related (DTR)-QOL questionnaire to all participants, both before admission and at discharge. Here, we investigated whether our program improves QOL and post-discharge glycemic control.

Materials and methods: This retrospective study utilized data from patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who participated in our program between July 2017 and March 2020 and who had been treated in our outpatient department for more than 1 year. We evaluated the relationship between at admission and at discharge diabetes treatment-related quality of life scores and glycemic control after discharge.

Results: Data from 140 patients were analyzed in this study, which showed a significant improvement in the total, 'Anxiety and dissatisfaction with treatment', and 'Satisfaction-with-treatment' scores. A significant improvement was evident in HbA1c at 12 months after discharge. Multiple regression analysis showed that HbA1c after 12 months was independently associated with gender, duration of diabetes, and HbA1c at admission.

Conclusions: Our program effectively improves quality of life and post-discharge glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. It is particularly effective in patients of the male gender, with a shorter duration of diabetes mellitus and higher HbA1c at admission.