Background The memory and self-care abilities of older adults with chronic diseases are gradually declining, and relying solely on their personal strength for disease self-management is difficult to achieve good results, requiring more help from others. When providing health education to older adults with chronic diseases, it is not only necessary to focus solely on the elderly, but also to fully utilize the patient's social network and involve social network members in the disease management of the patients, to more effectively improve their self-management ability.
Objective To explore the impact of social network-based health education on the self-management ability of older adults with chronic diseases in community.
Methods From March 2021 to June 2022, older adults with chronic diseases who visited Beijing Fangzhuang Community Health Service Center, Clinic of Tsinghua Changgeng Hospital and Endocrinology Clinic of Beijing Hospital, Hongliancun Community were recruited. Using a computer-generated random number table, the older adults were assigned numbers in the order of recruitment, with odd numbers being intervention group and even numbers being control group. They were randomly divided into an intervention group and a control group in a 1∶1 ratio. The older adults in the intervention group received health education with their social network members, while those in the control group received health education alone. The Chronic Disease Self-Management Study Scale (CDSMS) was used to evaluate the effectiveness of chronic disease self-management before intervention, at the 6th and 12th months of intervention, meanwhile the Lubben Social Network-6 (LSNS-6) was used to assess their social network level.
Results Eighty older adults with chronic diseases were enrolled, of which 1 patient (in control group) withdrew from the study due to two hospitalizations during the study period. Finally, 79 older adults completed the study: 40 older adults in the intervention group+40 members of their social network, and 39 older adults in the control group. The exercise dimension, cognitive symptom management dimension of self-management behavior subscale, and self-efficacy subscale of CDSMS had an interactive effect on time and grouping (Finteration-values were 7.174, 8.488, and 9.939, respectively, P<0.05) ; The main effect of time on the two subscales of CDSMS was significant (Ftime-values were 13.527, 12.188, 7.576, 5.058, respectively, P<0.05) ; The main effects of grouping on three dimensions of CDSMS self-management behavior subscale were significant (Fgroup-values were 12.324, 7.383, 5.927, respectively, P<0.05). At the 6th month of intervention, the CDSMS exercise dimension score in the intervention group was higher than that in the control group (t=2.852, P=0.006), the difference was statistically significant. At the 12th month of intervention, the CDSMS exercise dimension score in the intervention group was higher than that in the control group (t=4.473, P<0.05), the score of cognitive symptom management dimension was higher than that in the control group (t=-2.780, P=0.005), the self-efficacy subscale score was higher than that in the control group (t=2.993, P=0.004), the differences were statistically significant.
Conclusion A 12-month social network-based health education can improve some of the self-management behaviors and self-efficacy with chronic diseases.