location: nan, 'Thailand 
year: 2008 source: HSRI 
title: A Study of the Medical Care of Diabetes Patients Comparing Those Treated at a One-stop Service Clinic of Nongwuasaw Hospital and at Nonwai Medical Care Center, Udon Thani Province 
abstract:The objectives of this study were to compare the results of the care services  
   provided at two primary care settings, a one-stop service clinic of Nongwuasaw  
   Hospital and the Nonwai Medical Care Center, both located in Udon Thani Province.  
   A simple random sampling method was used according to the specified criteria in order  
   to recruit the subjects for study in the period from March to May 2008. As a result,  
   271 patients from each of the medical centers were obtained. The variables to be  
   compared were fasting blood sugar levels, other clinical variables, knowledge, practice  
   and satisfaction of the patients. The questionnaires approved by five experts were used  
   for collecting study data. The descriptive statistics, number, percentage, mean, standard  
   deviation, median, minimum and maximum values were used to analyze the data  
   obtained. The student t-test was used to show the differences in the knowledge,  
   practice, patientsû satisfaction and the results in controlling the level of the fasting  
   blood sugar in the blood as well as other parameters; the results were presented along  
   with the degree of freedom, df, and p-value at the statistically significant level of 0.05.  
   Most of the subjects (70.1%) were females; the subjects were aged 20-86 years, with  
   the median age being 58 years and 31.4 percent were 51-60 years old; 74.2 percent  
   were married and 71.2 percent had completed primary school; the economic status of  
   almost all of the subjects (97 percent) was at the average level; and they were diabetic  
   for 3.5 ± 2.2 years. These general characteristics of the subjects of the two centers  
   were compared, and showed no statistically significant differences. The results of the  
   clinical parameters, however, showed that the levels of fasting blood sugar and urine  
   albumin of the DM patients who had received services from the Nonwai Medical  
   Center were statistically lower than that of the DM patients who had attended the One- 
   stop Service Clinic of Nongwuasaw Hospital (p-values = 0.003 and 0.05, respectively).  
   The levels of HbA1c, cholesterol and triglyceride in the blood and the body mass  
   index of both groups were not statistically different. With regard to DM knowledge,  
   the patients who had received services at the One-stop Service Clinic of Nongwuasaw  
   Hospital had lower knowledge scores than those who had received services at the  
   Nonwai Medical Care Center (p-value < 0.001). However, there was no statistical  
   difference in terms of practice scores. Patients who had received services at the One- 
   stop Service Clinic of Nongwuasaw Hospital had significantly lower satisfaction scores  
    than those who had received services at the Nonwai Medical Care Center (p-value = 0.05).   
    The study concluded that diabetic care at the Nonwai Medical Care Center is  
   more efficient than that of the One-stop Service Clinic of Nongwuasaw Hospital.  
   However, the study had a limitation in that it was not a randomized controlled trial;  
   therefore, such study is needed in the future to make conclusions.