Introduction: Diabetes is one of the most common non-communicable diseases with significant complications throughout the world. One of the strategies for controlling the complications of diabetes is to improve the patient's self-care and involvement in the treatment process. Regarding this, the present study aimed to determine the educational need assessment for the prioritization of the interventions targeted toward the improvement of patients' involvement and self-care using the PRECEDE Model in Ardabil, Iran, in 2016.

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 129 patients with type II diabetes mellitus referring to the Ardabil Diabetes Clinic. The study population was selected using simple random sampling technique. Data collection tools included the demographic form, the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities (SDSCA), and a researcher-made checklist based on the PRECEDE model components. The data were analyzed in SPSS, version 16.

Results: According to the results, the patients had an undesirable level of awareness regarding the disease side-effects, symptoms, adherence to diet, and physical activity. The patients' demands included the increased access to educational classes, sports venues, and free nutrition consultant. Furthermore, there was a significant relationship between the self-care behaviors and education level. Self-efficacy was identified to be the most important predictor of self-car behavior.

Conclusion: As the findings indicated, the implementation of need assessment before the execution of any self-care educational interventions could help the planners to identify the effective priorities in the process of designing and administering the educational interventions and act purposefully in this regard.