Objective:To explore the effect of nursing intervention based on the health action process approach (HAPA) theory on follow-up compliance and blood glucose management of patients with diabetes retinopathy (DR) .Methods:From October 2022 to May 2023, 102 DR patients who visited the Diabetes Fundus Clinic of Shanxi Eye Hospital were selected by convenience sampling as participants. A total of 51 patients who visited from October 2022 to January 2023 were selected as control group, and 51 patients who visited from February to May 2023 were selected as observation group. Control group received routine nursing, while observation group received nursing intervention based on HAPA theory on this basis. The follow-up compliance, Chinese version of the Compliance with Annual Diabetic Eye Exams Survey (CADEES-C) score, fasting blood glucose (FBG), 2-hour postprandial blood glucose (2hPG) and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) were compared between the two groups.Results:The compliance of DR patients in observation group after six months of follow-up was higher than that in control group, and the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.05). After six months, the CADEES-C dimension scores and total score of DR patients in observation group were higher than those in control group, and the differences were statistically significant ( P<0.05). FBG and 2hPG of DR patients in observation group were lower than those in control group after three and six months, and the differences were statistically significant ( P<0.05). After six months of intervention, there was no statistically significant difference in HbA1c between observation group and control group ( P>0.05) . Conclusions:Nursing interventions based on HAPA theory can effectively improve the follow-up compliance of DR patients, enhance their health beliefs during follow-up, and improve their blood glucose.