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Diabetes: What Role for Occupational Therapy?
Author(s) -
Welch Barbara J.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
australian occupational therapy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.595
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1440-1630
pISSN - 0045-0766
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1630.1983.tb01440.x
Subject(s) - compliance (psychology) , medicine , diabetes mellitus , occupational therapy , physical therapy , exercise prescription , population , exercise therapy , family medicine , drug compliance , medical prescription , gerontology , nursing , intensive care medicine , psychology , surgery , randomized controlled trial , social psychology , environmental health , endocrinology
Due to the significant Australian diabetic population size and the important role of exercise in the management of diabetes mellitus, this article presents one approach to an application of exercise in diabetes. Described are the roles of the occupational therapist associated with the Repatriation General Hospital, Greenslopes diabetic clinic in exercise counselling with outpatients, inpatients and group education programmes. For the obese patients, compliance with recommendations for increased activity to aid weight reduction was studied. Compliance typical of other exercise prescriptions for the obese was noted in inpatients (57.1%) and outpatients (39.4%). Within the outpatient group, significantly better compliance was noted in those receiving follow up contact (p <.05). Attitude of patient and family contributed most strongly to determining compliance or otherwise. Suggestions for improvements to the programme were made and it is felt that individual success stories make persistence with this approach justifiable.