Community-Based Nutritional Literacy Program for Improving Diabetes Self-Management

Abstract

Diabetes self-management contributes to better diabetes self-care and glycemic control. Nutritional literacy and self-management become essential factors in diabetes management. This study aimed to identify the effect of a community-based nutritional literacy program on self-management in controlling diabetes mellitus.  This was a quasi-experimental post-test study on September-October 2020. The population was patients with diabetes mellitus in the area of Public Health Center of Rowosari, Semarang. Samples who were diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, literate, conscious, and no more than 25 years old were included for this study. Samples recruited purposively from 5 districts. The experimental group participated in four courses of diabetes self-management, telephone follow-up, and positive reinforcement with a nutritional literacy approach, while the control group enrolled one session of health education. During the program, both groups consumed red rice. After the intervention, diabetes self-management and blood glucose were measured. Univariate statistics determined the respondent's characteristics, diabetes self-management, and blood glucose before and after the program. The data were not normally distributed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Differences in diabetes self-management and blood glucose before and after treatment were analyzed using Wilcoxon. Diabetes self-management and blood glucose differences between the treatment and control groups were analyzed using Mann Whitney. Diabetes self-management and glucose level after the program was significantly different from pre-program, p<0.05. The program positively affects the self-management behaviors and blood glycemic control, p<0.05, better than the control group. nutritional literacy is critical for diabetes self-management, and structured community-based interventions are more likely to yield a better outcome.