The purpose of the study was to identify the effects of problem solving nursing counseling and intensified walking exercise on diabetic self-care, coping strategies, and glycemic control among older adults with DM type II.

Ninety nine DM patients who were older than 50 were recruited from DM clinics or public health centers and conveniently assigned into three groups: the Polar(n=41), counseling(n=30) and control groups (n=28). Participants in both Polar and counseling groups attended weekly problem solving nursing counseling for 12 weeks. Polar heart rate monitors were used in the Polar group to intensify walking exercise. Data was collected from November 2003 to August 2004 and analyzed by ANOVA or ANCOVA using the SPSS WIN program.

After a 12 week intervention, participants in both the Polar and counseling groups reported increased diabetic self care behaviors and decreased blood glucose levels, which is significantly different from those in the control group. There were no distinctively different program effects between the Polar and counseling groups.

Based on the findings, we concluded that problem solving counseling alone could have positive effects on diabetic self care and glycemic controls for older adults with DM. Future research is needed to identify long-term effects of the program.