[Evaluation of the educational practices in promoting self-management in type 2 diabetes mellitus].

The objective of this is study to evaluate the educational practices in promoting the self-management of diabetes mellitus. Subjects were twenty-six individuals with type 2 diabetes, who participated in the educational program at a teaching hospital in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. The subjects were followed for four months in 2008. The educational group practices consisted of three monthly meetings, in which recreational and interactive dynamics were performed, and individual sessions were held using dialogic education. The evaluation was performed using a specific questionnaire: self-care and clinical exams in the beginning and four months after the intervention. The mean age of the subjects was 60.9 ±8.4 years; the mean time of disease was 8.7±6.7 years; most (55.6% or 27 individuals) had incomplete primary education and a family income between 1 and 3 minimum salaries. Satisfactory results were found in the self-care test. It was also observed that HbA1c levels dropped down and the educational practices improved self-care and self-management of the disease.