Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare (Jan 2021)
A Theory-Based Self-Management Training Program for Older Adult Peer Leaders with Diabetes: A Feasibility Assessment
Abstract
Wen-Chun Chen,1– 3 Chiu-Chu Lin,2,4,5 Chia-Chi Kuo,6,7 Chia-Chen Wu,8 Tz-Jie Liu,9 Mei-Tsu Chen9 1Department of Community Medicine, St. Martin De Porres Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan; 2School of Nursing, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 3Department of Nursing, Chang Jung University of Science and Technology, Chiayi Campus, Tainan, Taiwan; 4Department of Renal Care, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 5Department of Medical Research, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 6Emergency Department, Chi-Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan; 7Department of Nursing, Chang Jung Christian University, Tainan, Taiwan; 8School of Nursing, Fooyin University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 9Health Management Center, St. Martin De Porres Hospital, Chiayi, TaiwanCorrespondence: Chiu-Chu Lin Email [email protected]: To improve the quality of peer leader training, this study developed a theory-based self-management training program for older adult peer leaders with diabetes and assessed its feasibility.Background: Current self-management programs are designed mainly to be implemented by healthcare professionals, but healthcare staff may not fully perceive the needs and obstacles of older adults in disease management due to a lack of similar illness experience. To target this problem, peer leaders with successful self-management experiences, similar cultural backgrounds and languages, and related illness experiences are trained to guide and mentor peer patients in self-management programs.Study Design and Methods: This study was conducted in two stages. In stage 1, a peer leader training program was developed based on experiential learning theory as the framework and self-regulation theory as the activity design strategy. In stage 2, program feasibility was assessed via participants’ feedback toward the training program by three indicators: attendance, future willingness to lead the peer-led self-management program, and leadership skills evaluated by a peer leader training assessment tool.Results: In this study, peer leaders demonstrated good leadership skills by expressing active willingness to lead self-management programs in the community. Peer leaders’ feedback indicated that the program’s training content was helpful in preparing peer leaders to guide older adults in learning self-management skills and in improving the abilities and confidence of peer leaders in mentoring self-management.Conclusion: Findings in this study showed that peer leader training can impact the effectiveness and success of self-management in older adults with diabetes. Even in a small-scale study, the impact was evident, which demonstrated the feasibility of the program. More large-scale studies on the effectiveness of various peer leader training programs in diverse disciplines are recommended.Clinical Trials Registry: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04298424 (the Peer-Led Self-Management Program).Keywords: older adult, peer leader, diabetes, theory-based, peer-led, self-management
