Self-care competence in the case of Brazilian patients with diabetes mellitus in a multiprofessional educational programme

Aim. To compare self-care competencies in the physical, cognitive and emotional and motivational dimensions of patients with diabetes mellitus before and after participation in an educational programme. Background. Diabetes mellitus is mainly characterised by a dysfunction of glucose metabolism. The growth of diabetes mellitus as a chronic condition requires continuous management and requires health services to implement care strategies. Diabetes education and self-care competence have been recognised over the last few decades as essential for patients with diabetes mellitus to achieve positive treatment results. Design. A prospective, comparative study was used. Methods. A total of patients with 43 diabetes mellitus participated in this study, before and after a four-month educational