Effect of Family-centered Empowerment Model on Eating Habits, Weight, Hemoglobin A1C, and Blood Glucose in Iranian Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Background: Families play a peculiar role in adherence to treatment in diabetic patients; therefore, it seems that interference in motivational, psychological, and self-issued characteristics based on the family-centered empowerment model (FCEM) affects this adherence. Aim: The present study aimed to determine the effect of FCEM on eating habits, weight, hemoglobin A1C, and blood glucose control in Iranian patients with type 2 diabetes. Method: This semi-experimental study was conducted on 70 participants with type 2 diabetes in a diabetes clinic in Birjand, Iran, in 2018. The participants were selected via purposive sampling and randomly assigned to two groups of control (n=35) and intervention (n=35) using block randomization. The intervention group received family-centered empowerment training for four weekly-held 90-min sessions. Data were collected using demographic and disease characteristics form and Azartel et al.’s Dietary Behaviors Questionnaire and analyzed in SPSS software (version 19). Results: The mean age scores of participants in the intervention and control groups were 49.66±6.37and 49.46±5.98 years, respectively. The intervention group showed an increasing trend through time, where the mean scores for eating habits and blood glucose had insignificant improvement one month (P 0.05) and three months (P 0.05) after the intervention. Hemoglobin A1C level reduced significantly in the intervention group three months after the intervention (P 0.05), as compared to that in the control group (P 0.05). Implications for Practice: The FCEM can improve nutritional behaviors, hemoglobin A1C, and blood glucose in type 2 diabetic patients. This intervention can guide health care providers on how to improve the eating habits of diabetic patients through family empowerment training.