The Effect of Nurse Coaching Program in Preventing Diabetes Mellitus Complications Behaviours and Improving HbA1c in Patients with Type 2 DM: A Pilot Study

Background: Prevention of DM complications must involve the patient as the centre of care. One of the strategies of a patient-centred approach is coaching. However, there are not many studies describing the construction of coaching from a combination of nursing theories between the Theory of Integrative Nurse Coaching (TINC) and interpersonal theory to prevent DM complications and improve HbA1c levels. The specific elements of TINC theory that were used in the study were nurse coaching content to change the behaviours, while the interpersonal theory phases of nurse coaching consisted of orientation, identification, exploration, and termination. The objectives of the study were to determine the feasibility and evaluation of nurse coaching programmes and their impact on preventing DM complication behaviours and reducing HbA1c levels. Methods: This study employed a quasi-experimental design. The nurse coaching programme was twelve weeks long with some steps and methods according to the interpersonal relationship theory. Fourteen patients with DM were allocated into either the experimental group or the control group, with 7 respondents per group. The behaviours of preventing DM complications were examined by a questionnaire of the Summary of Diabetes Self-care Activities (SDSCA), while HbA1c was measured by the HbA1c and ACR analyser. These examinations were performed and compared at baseline and 12 weeks after the end of the intervention. Results: The respondents receiving the nurse coaching programme revealed significant improvement in the Preventing Diabetes Mellitus Complications Behaviours (p < 0.05) and HbA1c level (p < 0.05) compared to those receiving the standard care. Conclusion: This study reported that nurse coaching is feasible for implementation. The integration of the Theory of Integrative Nurse Coaching (TINC) with interpersonal theory effectively supported behaviour change and improved glycaemic control.