A study to determine the effectiveness of a learning activity package for the adult with diabetes mellitus

In spite of the recognized significance of the diabetic's knowledge and understanding of all phases of his health problems, studies have demonstrated a considerable lack of knowledge on the part of the diabetic patient. To investigate the effectiveness of the learning activity package (LAP) as a method for patient education, a pilot study was conducted with diabetics admitted to a general, acute care hospital facility. The pre‐ and post‐test scores of an experimental group of four patients, newly‐diagnosed as diabetic and who were taught about their disease utilizing a LAP, were compared with those of a control group which consisted of four patients who had been diagnosed as diabetic for a year or longer. Even though the significant findings of this study is limited because of lack of randomization and the small sample size, several advantages of the LAP, as a method of patient education, were demonstrated.