Birutė Bartkevičiūtė, Eurelija Venskaitytė, Jūratė Samėnienė, Aurelija Blaževičienė, Virginija Bulikaitė

Abstract

Lithuanian, like other European countries, society is rapidly aging. Changing demographic trends: an aging population, increased life expectancy, people with physical, psychological and social well-being affected by chronic diseases (eg., diabetes mellitus (DM), osteoarthritis). As a result, many old people are in need of various services. According to numerous Lithuanian studies, there is a significant increase in population with Diabetes Mellitus (DM). This chronic disease leads to significant morbidity and mortality. Thus, DM among older elderly is a strong public health challenge. Older patient who experienced a hypoglycemic event had a increased risk for developing dementia compared with those who did not have a hypoglycemic event. The main purpose of this work is to determine the diabetes nurse‘s influence on learning about the disease and the quality of life in older patients with DM. Methods. Survey was conducted at the Lithuanian Diabetes Association (LDA) from 2013 March till December 2013. The anonymous questionnaire was applied. 122 members of LDA were involved in this study: 60 years and older patients with 1st or 2nd type DM. Statistical analysis was performed by using IBM SPSS Statistics software, version 19.0. Instrument. The ADDQOL consists of two overview items: one measures generic overall QOL and a further 19 items are concerned with the impact of diabetes on specific aspects of life. The 19 life domains are as follows: leisure activities, working life, local or long-distance journeys, holidays, physical health, family life, friendships and social life, close personal relationships, sex life, physical appearance, self-confidence, motivation to achieve things, people’s reactions, feelings about the future, financial situation, living conditions, dependence on others, freedom to eat, and freedom to drink. These 19 domains ask the respondents to evaluate how their life would be if they did not have diabetes mellitus. The scales range from −3 to +1 for 19 life domains (impact rating) and from 0 to + 3 in attributed importance (importance rating). A weighted score for each domain is calculated as a multiplier of impact rating and importance rating (ranging from −9 to + 3). Lower scores reflect poorer QOL. Finally, a mean weighted impact score (ADDQOL score) is calculated for the entire scale across all applicable domains. Results. More than half of respondents (n = 55 (45.1 %) – 0.39 (0.770)) indicated that their current quality of life was average. Four out of ten reported that their life would have been better if they did not have DM n = 46 (37.8 %) 2.41 (0.092). There was a significant, inverse correlation between learning how to stay healthy and patient‘s knowledge about specialized nursing care provided by diabetes nurse (r=-0.146, p=0.020). Most patients rated educational capability of diabetes nurses with the patients as being good or excellent. Conclusions. Diabetes nurse is seeking to help with DM to follow treatment and care guidelines to promote behavioral change and maintenance, clarifys and resolves the arising uncertainties. Training is one of the factors that have a positive impact on the quality of life of patients with DM. The overall quality of life of the respondents averaged 0, 39 ± 0, 770. Most respondents agreed that everyone should be aware of and learn about theirs health condition. Diabetes nurse initiates patient‘s education. Respondents were satisfied with the diabetes nurse‘s services.

Keyword(s): diabetes nurse; quality of life in patients with diabetes; diabetes; older patient.
DOI: 10.5200/sm-hs.2016.050
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