Feasibility of diabetes peer education for Turkish type 2 diabetes patients in Dutch general practice

The feasibility of a 9-month educational diabetes programme (tailored to Turkish patients, provided by Turkish bicultural female educators) was assessed in terms of dropout rate, patient and GP satisfaction, and GP's perceived workload. Of the 54 Turkish patients (39% males) that signed informed consent, 45 actually started the education. Dropout rate during the programme was 41% (main reason: going abroad for a long period (18%)). The individual education sessions and the consultations with the GP were highly appreciated by 87% of the patients and the group sessions by 66%. Although all nine interviewed GPs experienced a higher workload, overall appreciation of the programme was high in six GPs. Although implementation of an ethic-specific diabetes programme in general practice is well appreciated by both patients and GPs, the high dropout rate indicates that the programme needs to be more finely tuned to the individual patient.