Impact of diabetes education and self-management support on the 4D series of diabetes patients.

The aim of this study was to assess the impacts of diabetes education and self-management support towards the 4D series of diabetes patients. A total of 1243 cases were selected through the single-blinded method, using a random number table, with 622 and 621 cases included in the experimental and control groups, respectively. The experimental group received health education, which extended towards diabetes self-management support, while the control group received traditional health education. Through questionnaires, observations, and other methods, the self-management skills, blood glucose and lipid levels, incidences of complications, cost issues, and other aspects of the two groups were compared. The 5- and 10-year self-management skills, glucose and lipid metabolism changes, incidences of acute and chronic complications, medical costs (i.e., 4D series observations) in the experimental group were significantly better than those in the control group (P<0.01 for all). These results indicate that extension of diabetes health education towards self-management support could effectively improve the self-management skills of diabetes patients, reduce the medical costs, and improve the patients' quality of life.