Improving Diabetic Neuropathy Knowledge in an Urban Elderly Population: A Community-Based Intervention Study
Main Article Content
Abstract
Background. As the global population ages quickly, older individuals are facing a rising burden of chronic diseases, particularly diabetes mellitus. In Indonesia, diabetes among the elderly poses a significant public health concern, often complicated by under-recognized conditions like diabetic neuropathy. Aim. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a community-based intervention focused on targeted health education on diabetic neuropathy among elderly residents in urban area. Methods. A pre- and post-test design was used to assess the intervention's effectiveness. In collaboration with local health cadres and facilities, participants completed identical questionnaires on diabetic neuropathy before and after the health education session to measure improvements in knowledge. Results. A total of 143 elderly participants (median age: 65 years) were enrolled, with 73.4% being female. Post-education test scores showed a statistically significant improvement compared to pre-test scores (p < 0.001, Wilcoxon test). Of the participants, 22.4% were newly identified as having diabetes, and another 22% fell into the prediabetes range. Despite some variations in learning outcomes, 84.6% showed improved scores, indicating high effectiveness of the health education session. Conclusion. This study demonstrates that a community-based approach combining early diabetes screening and health education significantly improves elderly participants' knowledge about diabetes and diabetic neuropathy.
Downloads
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
United Nations. Demographic Profiles Probabilistic Projections Line Charts Population Pyramids [Internet]. 2021. Available from: https://population.un.org/wpp/graphs?loc=360&type=Demographic
Jarzebski MP, Elmqvist T, Gasparatos A, Fukushi K, Eckersten S, Haase D, et al. Ageing and population shrinking: implications for sustainability in the urban century. npj Urban Sustainability. 2021 Dec 1;1(17).
United Nations D of E and SAPD. World Population Prospects: The 2015 Revision, Key Findings and Advance Tables. Working Paper No. ESA/P/WP.241. New York; 2015.
Franceschi C, Garagnani P, Morsiani C, Conte M, Santoro A, Grignolio A, et al. The continuum of aging and age-related diseases: Common mechanisms but different rates. Front Med (Lausanne). 2018;5(61):1–23.
Weyand CM, Goronzy JJ. Aging of the immune system: Mechanisms and therapeutic targets. In: Annals of the American Thoracic Society. American Thoracic Society; 2016. p. S422–8.
Oh SJ, Lee JK, Shin OS. Aging and the immune system: The impact of immunosenescence on viral infection, immunity and vaccine immunogenicity. Immune Netw. 2019 Dec 1;19(6).
Kementerian Kesehatan. Laporan nasional Riskesdas 2018 [Internet]. 2018 [cited 2025 Jul 15]. Available from: https://repository.badankebijakan.kemkes.go.id/id/eprint/3514/1/Laporan%20Riskesdas%202018%20Nasional.pdf
Derajat AM, Pratidina E, Indarna AA. Hubungan pengetahuan lansia tentang diabetes mellitus dan ketidakstabilan kadar glukosa darah di Puskesmas Cibiru Kota Bandung. Journal of Public Health Concerns. 2025 Jan 5;4(5):154–62.
Rianto B, Harun O. Pengetahuan lansia tentang diabetes melitus di panti werda Cimahi berdasarkan pendidikan, umur, dan gender. Jurnal Kesehatan Budi Luhur. 2024;17(1).
Sya’diyah H, Widayanti M, Kertapati Y, Anggoro SD, Ismail A, Atik T, et al. Penyuluhan kesehatan diabetes melitus penatalaksanaan dan aplikasi senam kaki pada lansia di wilayah pesisir Surabaya. Jurnal Pengabdian Kesehatan. 2020;3(1):10–27.
Hood KK, Hilliard M, Piatt G, Ievers-Landis CE. Effective strategies for encouraging behavior change in people with diabetes HHS Public Access. Diabetes Manag (Lond). 2015;5(6):499–510.
Ernawati U, Andri Wihastuti T, Wiji Utami Y. Effectiveness of diabetes self-management education (DSME) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients: Systematic literature review. J Public Health Res. 2021;10:2240.
Nxedlana O, Douglas M, Manu E. Strengthening community actions to improve diabetes mellitus care optimising public health facilitators. BMC Health Serv Res. 2025 Dec 1;25(1).
Christiana W, Anggraini N, Daeli NE, Kesehatan FI. Peran edukasi terhadap pengetahuan tentang manfaat labu siap pada penderita hipertensi. E-Indonesian Journal of Health and Medical. 2021;1:2774–5244.
Jaafar N, Perialathan K, Zulkepli MZ, Mohd Zin Z, Jonoi PE, Johari MZ. Patients’ perception towards health education services received at the enhanced primary healthcare facilities: A qualitative exploration. J Prim Care Community Health. 2020;11:2150132720980629.
Suryani D, Rizal A, Eliana, Darwis, Pratiwi BA, Angraini W, et al. The effect of counseling in efforts to prevent and control non-communicable diseases. Kemas. 2019;14(3):297–302.
Buyu Prakoso A, Irawan AA, Meliasari F, Dwi Ariani E. Pencegahan kejadian risiko diabetes melitus pada lansia melalui upaya screening dan penyuluhan pengetahuan umum diabetes melitus bersama Posyandu Mardirahayu III. Jurnal Pengabdian dan Pemberdayaan Masyarakat. 2024;2(1):8–15.
Bariya B, Solanki P, Mahyavanshi D, Tolani J. Comparing the effectiveness of different health education approaches for preventing tobacco use among school-going students in a government school of Dadra and Nagar Haveli district. J Educ Health Promot. 2024 Jan 1;13(1).
Sujarwoto, Maharani A. Participation in community-based healthcare interventions and non-communicable diseases early detection of general population in Indonesia. SSM Popul Health. 2022 Sep 1;19:101236.
Susanti H, Brooks H, Yulia I, Windarwati HD, Yuliastuti E, Hasniah H, et al. An exploration of the Indonesian lay mental health workers’ (cadres) experiences in performing their roles in community mental health services: a qualitative study. Int J Ment Health Syst. 2024 Dec 1;18(1).
Fang Z. The message framing effects in the process of health behavior The message framing effects in the process of health behavior change change [Internet]. 2025. Available from: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/etd_coll/701
Duckworth AL, Gross JJ. Behavior change. Organ Behav Hum Decis Process. 2020 Nov 1;161:39–49.
Kusumo MP, Kusumawati W. Barriers to understanding health education in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) in Yogyakarta: Qualitative study. Unnes Journal of Public Health. 2022 Jan 31;11(1):14–22.