Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE HSC5003

 
TITLE Understanding Health Behaviour and Promoting Diabetes Self-Management

 
UM LEVEL 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course

 
MQF LEVEL 7

 
ECTS CREDITS 5

 
DEPARTMENT Faculty of Health Sciences

 
DESCRIPTION This study-unit addresses salient issues concerning the promotion of diabetes self-management, which is the cornerstone of diabetes care. Facilitating self-management involves empowering individuals living with diabetes to make the right behavioral choices while helping them to integrate diabetes in their everyday life. This client role is in turn influenced by an interplay of physical and psycho-social factors which may impinge on one’s ability to manage and adapt to one’s condition.

The study-unit places the diabetes experience within the social context and enables students to understand the various influences on health behavior while recognizing how these may be modified in order to enhance diabetes related coping. It will highlight the role of health professionals, health care systems and social policy in achieving this goal. Using practical sessions, the study-unit will also equip students with the communication skills required to work collaboratively with clients in promoting behavioural modification, addressing in the process, the various personal challenges involved in actuating and maintaining change.

Study-unit Aims:

The aim of the study-unit is to equip students with the knowledge and skills required to actively participate in the promotion of diabetes self-management, whether this is through direct patient contact, organization of service or development of related policies.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding:
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

a. Analyse the concept of diabetes self-management, focusing on biomedical and sociological perspectives of the self;
b. Appraise identified theories of health behaviour, such as Prochaska's (1993) Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change, in relation to clinical experience;
c. Explore the psycho-social impact of diabetes on the individual and his/her family;
d. Evaluate the influence of the socio-cultural environment on diabetes self-management;
e. Discuss skills required for diabetes self-management (such as goal setting, problem solving, pro-active coping and positive thinking);
f. Discuss the principles of an ecological approach to self-management support which addresses the influence of the social and environmental context on individuals’ health related choices;
g. Evaluate evidence available on the effectiveness of structured educational programmes, analyzing various approaches such as lay-, or professional-led programmes, and generic- or disease- specific programmes, with reference to established programmes such as DAFNE, DESMOND, ASPIRE and X-PERT developed and run in the UK;
h. Evaluate established models on chronic care (such as the Chronic Care Model), analyzing their applicability to the local scenario and their potential to promote diabetes self-management;
i. Identify local patient pathways for individuals with diabetes; and
j. Analyse local diabetes-related services in relation to fostering patient empowerment, with a specific focus on the National Strategy for Diabetes Care.

2. Skills:
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

a. Develop attitudes and communications skills which foster the development of a therapeutic patient-provider relationship and use specific communication techniques to facilitate behavioural change and emotional coping;
b. Assist clients develop diabetes-specific and generic skills for self-management, using individual or group approaches;
c. Facilitate the transition from childhood to adolescence amongst the younger clients;
d. Involve family members and significant others in care and education to facilitate their supportive role and to help in the adaptation process of the whole family;
e. Use appropriate methods to evaluate clients’ self-management skills; and
f. Participate in the development of culturally sensitive educational programmes, diabetes related services and social policies aimed at patient empowerment.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

Main Texts:

- Carrier, J. 2015. Managing long-term conditions and chronic illness in primary care: A guide to good practice. 2nd revised edition. London: Taylor and Francis Ltd.
- Knapp H.E. 20014. Therapeutic Communication: Developing professional skills. 2nd revised edition. US: Thousand Oaks.

Supplementary Readings:

- Barnard, K. D. & Lloyd C.E. 2012. Psychology and Diabetes Care: A Practical Guide. UK: Springer.
- Bastable S.B. 2016. Essentials of Patient Education. Sudbury: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
- Broom, D. & Whittaker, A. 2004. Controlling diabetes, controlling diabetics: Moral language in the management of diabetes Type 2. Social Science & Medicine, vol. 58, no. 11, pp. 2371-2382.
- Fisher, E.B., Brownson, C.A., O'Toole, M.L., Sherry, G., Anwuri, V.V. & Glasgow,R.E. 2005. Ecological Approaches to Self-Management: The Case of Diabetes. American Journal of Public Health, vol. 95, no. 9, pp. 1523-1535.
- Gomersall, T., Madill, A. & Summers, L.K.M. 2011. A metasynthesis of the selfmanagement of Type 2 diabetes. Qualitative Health Research, vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 853-871.
- Ogden, J. 2012. Health Psychology: A Textbook. 5th Edition. UK: Open University Press.
- Paterson, B.L., Thorne, S. & Dewis, M. 1998. Adapting to and managing diabetes. The Journal of Nursing Scholarship, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 57-62.
- Prochaska, J.O., Redding, C.A., & Evers, K. (2002). The Transtheoretical Model and Stages of Change. In K. Glanz, B.K. Rimer & F.M. Lewis, (Eds.) Health Behavior and Health Education: Theory, Research, and Practice (3rd Ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, Inc. (1990 edition available in Main library) Avaialble online at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Daniel_Montano2/publication/233894824_
Theory_of_reasoned_action_theory_of_planned_behavior_and_the_
integrated_behavior_model/links/0a85e53b67d742bc29000000.pdf#page=135
- Vermeire, E., Hearnshaw, H., Rätsep, A., Levasseur, G., Petek, D., van Dam, H., Vinter-Repalust, N., Wens, J., Dale, J. & Van Royen, P. 2007.
- Obstacles to adherence in living with Type-2 diabetes: An international qualitative study using meta-ethnography (EUROBSTACLE). Primary Care Diabetes, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 25-33.
- Wagner, E. H., Austin, B.T, Davis, C., Hindmarsh, M., Schaefer, J. & Bonomi, A. 2001. Improving chronic illness care: Translating evidence into action. Health Affairs, vol. 20, no. 6, pp. 64-78.
- Ministry of Energy and Health 2015. Diabetes: A national health priority. A National Strategy for Diabetes 2016 - 2020 [Online]. Available:
https://deputyprimeminister.gov.mt/en/Documents/National-Health-Strategies/NDS-EN.pdf

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture, Independent Study & Practicum

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Assessment Due Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Simulation SEM1 Yes 40%
Case Study (Take Home) SEM1 Yes 60%

 
LECTURER/S

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit