Nursing interventions guided by the theory of stress and adaptation improve the self-management ability of T2DM patients.

Objective: To investigate the effects of nursing interventions based on stress and accommodation theory on the mental state and self-management competence of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methods: Fifty-five T2DM patients admitted to our hospital in 2022 who received standard nursing interventions were selected as the control group, and 61 T2DM patients admitted in 2023 who received stress and adaptation theory-based nursing intervention in addition to standard nursing interventions were enrolled as the observation group. Changes of blood glucose levels, mood state score, self-management competence and life quality were compared between the two groups before and after intervention.

Results: Post-intervention, HBA1c, fasting blood glucose and 2-hour postprandial blood glucose in both groups were remarkably reduced compared to pre-intervention levels (all <0.05), with the observation group showing clearly lower levels than those in control group (all <0.05). Post-intervention, both groups exhibited significant improvements in self-esteem and energy scores (all <0.05), while the scores of panic, tension, fatigue, anger and depression all decreased (all <0.05). The observation group showed greater improvements in mood state scores compared to the control group (all <0.05). Self-management ability scores significantly improved across all dimensions in both groups (<0.05), with the observation group outperforming the control group (<0.05). The FoP-Q-SF score and DSQL score of life quality decreased significantly in both groups after the intervention (all <0.05), with the observation group showing apparently lower post-intervention scores than the control group (all <0.05).

Conclusion: Nursing intervention based on stress and accommodation theory effectively improve blood sugar control, psychological well-being, self-management competence, and quality of life in T2DM patients, making it valuable for clinical promotion.