Educational technologies to promote the quality of life of people with diabetes: quasi-experimental study

Abstract

Objective: to verify the effect of educational technologies on the quality of life of people with diabetes. Method: quasi-experimental study, before-and-after type, developed with a group of 34 people. Six interventions were carried out, in groups or individually, using educational technologies, such as clinical simulators and physical educational games. A questionnaire was used to extract sociodemographic and clinical data. To assess quality of life, the Diabetes Quality of Life Measure (DQOL) was applied at the initial (T0) and final (T1) moments. The paired Student’s t-test was used to compare the mean scores at T0 and T1, adopting a significance level ≤ 0.05. Results: the mean overall DQOL score revealed an increase from 142.7 (±11.8) to 162.2 (±9.1), with a statistically significant difference (p<0.001). The domains of satisfaction, impact and concerns related to diabetes also showed an increase with statistical difference. There was a significant reduction in postprandial blood glucose levels after the interventions, with a statistically significant difference (p<0.001). Conclusion: the use of educational technologies in educational interventions demonstrated an improvement in the quality of life of people living with diabetes.