The Effect of a Cardiovascular Self-Management Support Program on Preventing Cardiovascular Complication Behaviors and Clinical Outcomes in the Elderly with Poorly Controlled Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Indonesia

Abstract

Elderly people with poorly controlled type 2 DM often develop cardiovascular disease (CVD) as a major complication. Prevention can be managed by the action of preventing cardiovascular complication behaviors (PCCB) which consist of a DM and healthy heart diet, physical exercise, taking medication regularly, and ceasing smoking. The cardiovascular self-management support program (CSSP) facilitates successful and improved PCCB and clinical outcomes in the elderly with poorly controlled type 2 DM. A quasi-experimental study was conducted to find out the effectiveness of CSSP on PCCB and clinical outcomes in elderly with poorly controlled type 2 DM. Fifty-nine elders with poorly controlled type 2 DM were randomly recruited and divided into an experimental and a control group. Of these, 30 participants in the experimental group received the CSSP and the usual care whereas the control group only received the usual care. PCCB was measured by the prevention of cardiovascular complication behaviors questionnaire (PCCBQ), while clinical outcomes were measured by clinical devices provided by the Public Health Center. An independent t-test was conducted to determine the effect of the program between groups and a paired t-test was used to report the effect of the program within the group. The results showed that the mean score of the PCCB in the experimental group was significantly higher than those in the control group after participating in the program (p < .05) and improved the mean scores of the clinical outcomes except for the diastolic blood pressure (p > .05). The CSSP in this study clearly indicates positive effects on improving the PCCB and some clinical outcomes in the elderly with poorly controlled type 2 DM.