Effects of Nursing Case Management on Health Behaviors and Clinical Outcomes in Monks at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes

This randomized experimental design aimed to 1) compare health behaviors and clinical outcomes fasting blood glucose, body mass index, and waist circumference between subjects in the experimental group before and after receiving nursing case management intervention and 2) compare health behaviors and clinical outcomes of the participants in the control group and the experimental group after the intervention.  The sample consisted of 50 monks at risk for type 2 diabetes in two districts of a northern province who met the inclusion criteria. The subjects were randomly assigned into an experiment and a control group equally. The experimental group received the 12-week nursing case management, while those in the control group received routine care. Health behaviors, fasting blood glucose, body mass index, and waist circumference were measured at baseline and week-12 after the intervention. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-Square test, Independent t-test, and Paired t-test. The results revealed that after the intervention, the subjects in the experimental group had significantly higher health behaviors and better clinical outcomes compared to before the intervention. After the intervention, the participants in the experimental group had better mean difference in health behaviors, fasting blood glucose, body mass index, and waist circumference than those of the control subjects with statistical significance. Results suggested that community nurse practitioners apply nursing case management in nursing care for monks at risk for type 2 diabetes by monitoring fasting blood glucose, body mass index, and waist circumference to prevent type 2 diabetes among them.