The effect of distance education on health beliefs, self-efficacy, and healthy lifestyle behaviours of people with diabetes: A randomised controlled trial

Objective: To evaluate the effect of distance modular education based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) on health beliefs, self-efficacy, and healthy lifestyle behaviours in individuals with type 2 diabetes. Design: Randomised controlled trial. Setting: Endocrinology outpatient clinic of a university hospital in Konya, Türkiye. Method: A total of 82 patients were randomly assigned to an intervention group ( n = 41) and a control group ( n = 41) using simple randomisation. The intervention group received diabetes education videos consisting of six modules based on the HBM over a 6-week period. The control group received standard clinical care for 12 weeks. Data were collected using the HBM Scale, the Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Healthy Lifestyle Behaviours Scale at baseline, the sixth week and the 12th week. Results: The intervention group showed significant improvements compared to baseline and the control group. In the intervention group, mean scores increased for health beliefs (Baseline: 3.00 ± 0.79 vs Week 12: 4.47 ± 0.45), self-efficacy (Baseline: 64.17 ± 15.07 vs Week 12: 90.02 ± 7.52), and healthy lifestyle behaviours (Baseline: 174.55 ± 15.36 vs Week 12: 201.92 ± 9.40). A statistically significant difference was observed between the intervention and control groups in all three domains ( p < .05). Conclusion: HBM-based distance modular education can be an efficacious intervention for improving health beliefs, self-efficacy, and healthy lifestyle behaviours in individuals with type 2 diabetes.