(P) In elderly patients of 60 to 80 with chronic diseases like diabetes, (I) does patient education intervention like exercises 30 minutes a day and healthy food diets, (C) compared with only medication treatments, (O) increase their health knowledge and improve their health status (T) in a period of 6 months?
Monitored Variables
Two categories of variables will be measured during the course of the project. The first category will include independent variables and will consist of the performance of daily exercise conducted under the supervision of an instructor, the duration of each session, and the perceived benefits of the practice reported by the participants. In addition, it will be necessary to measure adherence to healthy dietary habits formulated in a dietary plan developed by the patients and assisted by the dietitian. The second category will include dependent variables and will consist of the health knowledge demonstrated by the participants and the health status of the patients. The latter will be measured using self-assessment by the patients and the glycemic control observed by the nursing practitioners participating in the project.
Impact on Healthcare Quality
Due to the fact that diabetes is associated with significant deterioration of health and a decline in health-related quality of life (HRQoL), it is reasonable to expect improvements in several areas of healthcare quality (Look AHEAD Research Group, 2014). On the one hand, the patients are expected to report fewer adverse health effects associated with the condition and will be able to react more adequately to the changes in the state of their health. On the other hand, the health knowledge obtained during the course of the project will decrease dependence on medications in patients with less severe cases, thus increasing autonomy and, by extension, the perceived quality of life.
Feedback from Stakeholders
The improvements in HRQoL can be measured primarily using the feedback from the participants. Therefore, it is crucial to establish reliable feedback channels in order to understand the overall impact of the project and identify the causes of potential setbacks in performance encountered in the course of the intervention.
References
Look AHEAD Research Group. (2014). Impact of intensive lifestyle intervention on depression and health-related quality of life in type 2 diabetes: The Look AHEAD trial. Diabetes Care, 37(6), 1544-1553.