Date of Conferral

2020

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Carolyn S. Sipes

Abstract

Diabetes is a chronic illness affecting millions of individuals in the United States and is the seventh leading cause of death. Most of the Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) patients manage their illness with non-insulin therapies resulting in inadequate glycemic control but there are times when they experience inadequate glycemic control and require short-term intensive insulin therapy (SIIT). Despite proven effectiveness of SIIT, there is a lack of research focusing on the effectiveness of clinical practice where providers revert their clients to non-insulin therapy after SIIT. The focus of this quality improvement (QI) project was to evaluate pre/post data and synthesize results to make a recommendation for possible practice change. The QI project utilized the theory of self-care for chronic illness and the theory of self-efficacy. By using a retrospective quantitative design, a sample of 50 QI data cases of T2DM were randomly selected and divided into two groups: those treated with SIIT (n=17) and those treated with standard therapy (STD, n=33). Consequently, the pre-QI data with Hemoglobin A1c >8% (n=17) was compared with post-QI data and analyzed against the two therapies (SIIT, n=8, STD, n=9). Findings of this QI project indicates that SIIT is more effective in treating T2DM patients with an episode of hyperglycemia compared to standard therapy. SIIT, when implemented in primary care settings, has the potential to improve health outcomes for T2DM patients struggling with uncontrolled blood sugar. Findings have the potential for contributing to positive social change leading to reduced disease burden, reduction in disease complications, improved quality of life among T2DM patients, and reduction in overall healthcare costs.

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