Wellness Counseling and Education Effects on Diabetes Self-Management

Abstract

The project's purpose was to assess the effects of wellness counseling and education on individuals with elevated HbA1c levels to enhance and strengthen their diabetes self-management skills. The project provided wellness counseling on lowering their blood glucose levels, including the topics of medication adherence, healthy eating and nutrition, and physical activity. Six individualized wellness counseling sessions were held with 18 participants with uncontrolled diabetes ages 31-65 years, who reside in a rural area of eastern North Carolina. Quantitative findings indicate that with counseling, HbA1c levels can be reduced. Qualitative results found several areas where the participants could make improvements, including (a) an understanding of how diabetes affects the body, (b) a better understanding of how insulin, both natural and supplemental, works in the body, (c) what each medication does to control diabetes, (d) how stress affects blood glucose, and (e) how healthy eating and nutrition along with physical exercise reduces glucose levels and creates energy. Improvements in diabetes self-management using wellness counseling as a technique can assist participants in reducing their HbA1c levels as well as preventing the longer-term complications of heart disease, renal disease, loss of limbs, stroke, and dementia.