Health education for type 2 diabetes mellitus carriers: bibliographical review

Abstract

Health education enables empowerment and transforming actions which favor the change of thoughts and individuals’ actions, being well applied to chronic diseases, among which, type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is highlighted. Thus, the aim of this research was to identify the strategies of health education directed to type 2 DM carriers kept in articles available in the MEDLINE, LILACS, BDENF and SciELO from 1997 to 2007. The keywords “health education” and “type 2 diabetes” were used through the selection articles which were available in full. The data were synthesized in forms and analyzed according to specific literature. The strategies carried through were: interactive education, community education intervention, and educational games in operative groups; educational seminars, periodical accompaniment of the clinical and biochemist parameters; educational domiciliary visits, conferences, practi­cal activities on feeding and physical exercise, eye tests, case study and educative colony. It was focused the acquisition of knowledge and self-care. It is suggested the conduction of longitudinal studies based on the concept of positive health.