An analysis, using concept mapping, of diabetic patients' knowledge, before and after patient education

This study was designed to assess whether concept maps used with diabetic patients could describe their cognitive structure, before and after having followed an educational programme. Ten diabetic patients, in Paris and Geneva, were interviewed and, during the interview, a concept map was drawn up by the researcher, using the patient's words. This was done on three different occasions: the first day of the educational programme (Pre-evaluation), the last day (Post 1) of a week of education, then 3 to 4 months after education (Post 2). Twenty-eight maps were analysed, using a grid that quantified and qualified the knowledge expressed (knowledge categories, concept links, exactitude) and the organization of that knowledge (hierarchization of concept, cross-links). The examples shown in the maps of the 10 patients gave an illustration of how knowledge was developed or maintained with education, and also showed some learning difficulties encountered by the patients, the changes or preservation of their beliefs and the patients' preoccupations. This study shows that concept maps can be a suitable technique to explore the type and organization of the patients' prior knowledge and to visualize what they have learned after an educational programme.