Education of Clinic Providers to Promote Improved Diabetes Management

Diabetes is one of the most common major illnesses in the United States population and can lead to severe complications if not properly managed. Research has shown that over the past 2 decades there has been an increase in the prevalence of prediabetes, Type 2 diabetes, and associated complications and chronic diseases. Diabetes management is an ongoing challenge faced by providers nationally and it is the focus of this staff education development project at the outpatient clinic site. The purpose of this project was to ensure that clinic staff used an evidence-based approach to identify patients with diabetes, manage patients with diabetes, and provide patient education. The health belief model was used to guide this project. The educational intervention with a pretest/posttest design was used to determine if staff members\u27 knowledge of national diabetes management guidelines was improved by the intervention. All but 2 staff members\u27 knowledge related to diabetic management and the national guidelines for diabetes care showed an increase from pretest to posttest. Excluding 2 out of 15 participants with no learner gain, 87% of the participants showed an increase in the percent of correct answers with a pretest mean of 85.7, a posttest mean of 95.1, and a mean gain of 10.1 points. The findings of this project are relevant to advanced practiced nurses and other providers in primary care clinics who can promote social change by following national diabetes guidelines and helping to ensure that patients adhere to evidence-based diabetes self-care management at home. The potential benefits of using a diabetes management educational program with clinic staff are an improved quality of life for patients and the decreased financial burden of health care costs through the prevention of complications of diabetes