The Effect of Peer Education on Self-Care Behaviors and the Mean of Glycosylated Hemoglobin in Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

BACKGROUND: Diabetes control in adolescents is a difficult and tedious process. Diabetic teens need training to control it and prevent its complications. This study aimed to investigate the effect of peer education on self-care behaviors and glycosylated hemoglobin among adolescents with type 1 diabetes METHODS: This controlled clinical trial was conducted in Iran from July 2018 to June 2019. 84 teenagers with type 1 diabetes were selected using a simple random sampling and randomly divided into control and intervention groups using block randomization. The intervention group received 4 sessions of training by peers on self care behaviors in diabetes. The control group received the routine training. The self-care questionnaire was filled out, and glycosylated hemoglobin was measured before and three months after the intervention. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 23.0. The significance level was set at P<0.0 RESULTS: Three months after the intervention, the intervention group reported significantly higher levels of score of self-care behaviors (P<0.001) and lower levels of mean glycosylated hemoglobin (P<0.001), as compared with the control. Also, the mean self-care score was not significantly different in the control group before and three months after the intervention (P>0.05). Besides, the mean glycosylated hemoglobin significantly increased three months after the intervention in the controls (P<0.001) CONCLUSION: The implementation of peer education can improve the self-care behaviors and glycosylated hemoglobin in adolescents. Hence, regarding its low cost and high safety, it is suggested that this approach should be established in the control of other chronic diseases in order to strengthen the self-care behaviors in adolescents. Trial Registration Number: IRCT20180904040944N1.