A SELF-CARE EXPERIENCE IN DIABETES-MELLITUS TYPE-II PATIENTS

The present work presents the experience of a diabetes self-care group in San Antonio Tecomitl, Milpa Alta, D.F., Mexico. Diabetes is a serious disease posing a public health problem in our country, since it affects a great number of productive age persons, causing, if uncontrolled, deleterious effects on their life quality and expectancy because of vascular and neural complications. We carried out an intervention in six female patients diagnosed as having diabetes mellitus type II, with different stages of the disease; all of them were residents of Milpa Alta municipality, with an average age of 63.6 years. They were receiving different doses of oral hypoglycemic agents. The group of patients met once a week for two-hour sessions in wich they received: a) information about diabetes mellitus, b) self-care training and c) profound relaxation techniques. In each session we evaluated glycemia, body weight and blood pressure in each patient. Results from the intervention showed no correlation between body weight and blood pressure, though there was a significant variation in glycemia levels after the intervention.