Investigation of the Effect of Web-based Education on Self-Care Management and Family Support in Women With Type 2 Diabetes

Methods This quasi-experimental study was conducted in Ankara, Turkey, 2020. Sixty six patients were selected using convenient sampling and divided equally into two control and intervention groups based on random allocation. Web-based education was provided to the intervention group for six months. Data were collected before, at the third month of the intervention, and at the end of the intervention using "Patient Identification Form", "Metabolic Control Variables Form", "Diabetes Self-Care Scale" and "Family Support and Conflict Scale in Type 2 Diabetes" forms. All the patients were female individuals diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at least a year ago, using insulin between the ages of 18 to 65 years old, who applied to the internal medicine and endocrine outpatient clinic of a training and research hospital in Ankara. Patients had no communication barriers, and they were able to use computers and smartphones and volunteer for this study. No consultancy training was given to the control group by the researcher. They only received routine education in the hospital.

Data Collection Tools Data is collected using "Patient Identification Form", "Metabolic Control Variables Form", "Diabetes Self-Care Scale" and "Family Support and Conflict Scale in Type 2 Diabetes" forms.

Patient Identification Form Patient Identification Form was created for this study by scanning the literature. In this form, there were 12 questions in total. The questions included the first letters of the name and surname for coding purposes. There were questions about the age, marital status, employment status, educational status, smoking, alcohol and snacking habits, regular insulin use, blood glucose measurement, physical activity, dietary compliance, and previous educations about diabetes.

Metabolic Control Variables Form Metabolic Control Variables Form was created for this study by scanning the literature. It had questions regarding the disease of the individuals. The questions were about fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, LDL, HDL, total cholesterol, triglycerides, weight, height, and body mass index.

Diabetes Self-Care Scale Diabetes Self-Care Scale is a survey. Diabetes Self-Care Scale was developed by Lee and Fisher in 2005. It aims to evaluate the self-care activities of patients with type 2 diabetes. This scale was adapted and translated to Turkish by Karakurt and Kaşıkçı in 2008. The options of the scale were changed to "Never (1)" "Sometimes (2)" "Frequently (3)" and "Always (4)". It has been stated that patients who score points more than 66% of the scale total points are assumed at a level to meet their self-care. Based on the 4-point Likert type, the maximum score of the scale was 140 points. As the score increases, the self-care activities of the patients increase positively. Diabetes Self-Care Scale contains 35 items. The scale does not have sub-dimensions and inverse expressions. These items aim to get information about eating on time, exercising, measuring and recording blood sugar, using oral antidiabetics and insulin as recommended, visiting a doctor for checking blood sugar, foot care, personal hygiene practices, diabetes, and its complications. While the Cronbach Alpha value of the scale developed by Lee and Fisher was determined to be 0.80, the total Cronbach Alpha coefficient of the scale in Karakurt's research was determined as 0.81.