Objective:

To determine the effects on the control of diabetes during one year of follow-up of a group of patients who received an educational program added to the usual treatment in the specialized outpatient consultation of the National Hospital “Edgardo Rebagliati Martins”, Peru.

Methodology:

Quasi-experimental study, 90 patients were distributed in 2 groups: intervention versus control. The intervention group received 4 educational sessions in groups of 5-8 participants. Pharmacological therapy was maintained without significant modifications 3 months before and throughout the follow-up. Changes in the clinical-biochemical parameters were determined, mainly HbA1c at the beginning, at 6 and 12 months after the intervention.

Results:

The 90 patients completed all the sessions and follow-up consultations with the collection of samples for the determination of the biochemical parameters. In the intervention group, HbA1c decreased 1.2% at 12 months while the control group showed an increase of 0.5%; weight, fasting blood glucose, and LDL cholesterol also decreased during follow-up; the percentage of patients who reached the HbA1c goals increased by 22 % and LDL by 11 % at 12 months of follow-up.

Conclusions:

A diabetes education program added to the conventional specialized management in a national referral hospital improved metabolic control during one year of follow-up.

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