Educational Intervention for Self-Care in Patients With Coronary Heart Disease and Type 2 Diabetes

The goal of this clinical trial was to learn whether a structured educational intervention could improve self-care and selected clinical outcomes in adults with both coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The main questions were: Does the educational intervention improve self-care related to coronary heart disease and diabetes? Does the educational intervention improve blood sugar control, body mass index, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol? Participants were randomly assigned to an intervention group or a control group. Participants in the intervention group received one individual face-to-face education session about self-care for coronary heart disease and diabetes, supported by an educational booklet. They also received brief telephone follow-up contacts at weeks 1 and 4 to reinforce the self-care information, discuss problems they experienced, and answer their questions. Participants in the control group continued to receive usual clinical care. Researchers assessed self-care, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), body mass index, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol at the start of the study and again at 3 and 6 months.