Effects of Guided Reflection on Diabetes Self-Care: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of guided reflection on self-care behaviors, confidence scores, and diabetes knowledge among adults with diabetes. A randomized controlled trial with a pre/posttest design was used to generate data from a convenience sample of 62 adults with diabetes recruited from a single site. After viewing a 30-minute video on how to manage diabetes, participants were randomized to a control group (CG) (usual care) or an intervention group (IG). The IG further engaged in a reflection educational session. For 8 weeks, the IG isolated diabetes-related events weekly, critically analyzed them using Gibbs’s reflective questions, and recorded their analysis in a journal. They also shared their perspective relative to using the journal in an audiotaped interview. Main measures included baseline and 8-week clinical outcomes (self-care maintenance, monitoring, management, and confidence scores and diabetes knowledge scores) and intervention acceptability. Compared to the CG, the IG had no statistically significant difference in self-care measures over time, although scores trended in the anticipated direction. Importantly, both groups had statistically significant improvement in self-care scores. Furthermore, there was statistically significant improvement in diabetes knowledge among IG participants. Informatively, IG critically analyzed 147 diabetes-related events concentrating on blood glucose, diet, exercise, monitoring, medication, sleep pattern, and health care visits. Participants found the guided reflection activity highly acceptable. Combined educational and reflection interventions are effective approaches for improving self-care outcomes and diabetes knowledge among adults with diabetes. Research concentrating on purposeful patient reflection is warranted in a larger sample paying careful attention to study limitations.