Date of Conferral

2015

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Stoerm Anderson

Abstract

Diabetes is a devastating disease in American. The disease can cause chronic health comorbidities, and untreated diabetes has negative consequences for individuals and on our nation's economy. Newly diagnosed diabetics often have a lack of knowledge about the disease process. The purpose of this project was to design and implement a diabetes educational program to enhance participants' knowledge about diabetes management and self-care using the Health Belief Model. Diabetes Self-Management Education (DSME) is critical in improving patient outcomes and the prevention of diabetes related complications. Participation in a standardized diabetic educational intervention will improve patient knowledge, as measured by a reliable and valid pretest and posttest questionnaire. The objective was to develop a DSME curriculum that will be recognized and approved by the American Diabetes Association. A one group pretest /posttest method was employed with ten participants. A sample of ten participants between the age of 22 years old through 65 years old included eight women and two men all identified as African American. Upon completion of the 5-week DSME program, participants were noted to have started participating in weekly exercise or increased the number of days of exercise from 2 days to 3 days per week. Participants also noted a decrease in their systolic and diastolic blood pressure reading. Participants noted on average a 2-3 pound weight loss. Significant improvements were shown on both the knowledge scale and confidence scale of the modified Diabetes Project Participation Questionnaire. Results from this project indicated that participants applied knowledge from the DSME program to improve their own health status.

Download

Share

 
COinS