Date of Conferral

5-12-2025

Date of Award

May 2025

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Barbara Niedz

Abstract

The project was a staff education program on gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) that was carried out in an outpatient primary health facility to help improve staff knowledge of GDM. GDM is a pregnancy complication where women with no history of diabetes become hyperglycemic during their gestational period. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the percentage of mothers giving birth who received a diagnosis of diabetes during pregnancy has increased in the last 10 years. Limited healthcare staff knowledge is a constraint in preventing the increase of GDM incidence. The practice-focused question was: Among healthcare staff at a primary healthcare facility, does comprehensive training on GDM ultimately improve its prevention, diagnosis, and management through improved knowledge and confidence among primary care staff members? The main purpose of the project was to boost staff knowledge and confidence in GDM management. Education was provided to a staff of eight members during breaks and lunchtime. A pretest and posttest were used to determine the change in knowledge on 12 items totally 20 points. The mean score on the pretest was M=8.88, SD = 1.727; the posttest scores increased by 5.250 points to M=14.13, SD= 1.959, (t (7) = -7.492, p <.001). Confidence scores after the training ranged from 3.8 to 4.5 on a 5-point scale showing moderate to high levels of confidence on five confidence questions. With improved staff knowledge of GDM management, healthcare staff can provide quality, evidence-based diabetes care. Improved diabetes care and management contribute to a positive social change by improving the quality and health for all patients using standardized diabetes management practices in diagnosing, treating, and preventing gestational diabetes..

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