Abstract:
Problem: Diabetic education is an important component of diabet to care. However, the nature and extent of diabetic education in the public and private health care facilities in Thailand has not been adequately defined. Objective: We studied 1,016 health care facilities in Thailand to assess: 1) the nature and extent of diabetic education services at various health care levels both within the public and private sectors; and to give recommendation for improvement of diabetic education. Design: This is a descriptive study. A set of questionnaires was sent to the directors of hospitals with a letter of introduction signed by the Permanent secretary of the Ministry of Public Health or the Director of the Department of Medical Service, five types of information were gathered :1) general hospital data, 2) personal data of the respondents, 3) diabetic services, and diabetic education, 4) perception about the characteristics of patients and 5) perception about the problem of diabetic education service. Result: Sixty five per cent of the sample responded. Sixty nine percent of the responses were completed by physicians, about twenty six by nurses. Most agreed that diabetic education was very important but the activities were only moderately supported by higher authorities. The complexity of diabetic team and the sophistication of education methods were dependent upon the size of health care facilities. Major problem encountered includes regularity of care, diet control, administrative structures and the hospital diabetic team. Private hospitals trended to treat diabetics as inpatients, treat new patients (less continuing care) and use more insulin. Conclusion: We conclude that a systematic approach to research, curriculum development and services should be developed to promote diabetic education and overcome major problems encountered : ie regularity of care, diet control, proper administrative structures and appropriate composition of diabetic team.