Keywords: case vignette, diabetes mellitus, lifestyle counselling

Background:

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is a prevalent chronic disease that can be managed through lifestyle modifications such as nutrition and physical activity. However, there are deficiencies in the effective and systematic implementation of such counseling in family medicine practice. It is believed that structured educational interventions aimed at improving residents' knowledge, attitudes, and skills could enhance the quality of lifestyle counseling.

Research questions:

Can a case vignette-based structured educational program be effective in improving family medicine residents' skills in providing nutrition and physical activity counseling to patients with T2DM?

Method:

This four-month mixed-methods intervention study will be conducted with volunteer residents with at least 6 months of experience working in a university family medicine clinic. The intervention group (n=30) will receive structured education consisting of three modules (3 hours each) based on case vignettes. Counseling sessions conducted by participants with their own patients will be video-recorded and evaluated in structured observation and feedback sessions. Knowledge-attitude-practice questionnaires, 5A model observation forms, and Patient Assessment Chronic Disease Care Questionnaire will be used. Control group (n=10) sessions will also be analyzed using similar methods. Quantitative data will be evaluated with SPSS, and qualitative data through thematic analysis.

Results:

This study is still in the draft phase. However, as a result of the study, increases in the frequency and quality of counselling in the clinical practice of the residents in the intervention group, as well as improvements in patient satisfaction, are expected.

Conclusions:

This intervention may improve family medicine residents' lifestyle counseling skills. It has the potential to create a scalable, sustainable model for educational programs.

Points for discussion:

To what extent is the case vignette-based interactive learning approach applicable and relevant to clinical reality by resident physicians?

What is the contribution of this method to the development of essential primary care skills such as patient-centered communication and clinical decision-making?

How can such educational interventions be made sustainable for the systematic establishment of lifestyle counseling in family medicine practice?