Mutual Help Group. An Alternative Teaching in the Academic Practice of Nursing

Abstract

Mutual help groups (MHG) are considered a group of activities that individuals and peer groups develop with the purpose of resolving certain problems. The objective of this study was to consolidate the MHG W“I want to keep living” as a real scenario of integral learning for students. Educational health and self-care activities for people with Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 and Arterial Hypertension were implemented. The study used practical action research from a technical-scientific perspective through the following phases: detection of the problem, planning, implementation, evaluation and monitoring. Twenty-two people affiliated with a primary care level institute in Southern Veracruz participated. Of the participants, 95.4% were women, 81.8% were married, and 90.9% had oral hypoglycemic treatment. The initial glycemia reported an average of 127.58 ± 54.018 mg/dl and the final was of 99.42 ± 16.189 mg/dl. The initial systolic blood pressure was 123.33 ± 13.707 mmHg and the final of 111.67 ± 11.934 mmHg. The initial diastolic was of 80.83 ± 7.930 mmHg with a final of 72.50 ± 7.538 mmHg. This data showed that the implemented self-care activities in the MHG improved the compliance of basic treatment goals, which therefore allowed the accreditation and consolidation of the MHG. Academically, the nursing student developed competence for the self-care of people with chronic degenerative diseases in the primary care level.