The Effects of Latent Stage Diabetic Education and Tele-Health Reinforcement on the Knowledge of Low-Income Diabetic Patients

Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects millions globally. Poverty and obesity are factors that affect the development and progression of this disease. Although education has been identified as a factor affecting treatment adherence, on-going education for diabetes typically occurs in the early stages. This pilot study consisted of a quantitative, comparative study utilizing tele-health as the primary form of educational reinforcement for latent stage, low-income diabetics. Six clients agreed to participate. It focused on participants from a local clinic in Georgia. All participants live at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines. An initial survey was followed by an educational session during a clinical appointment. Two follow-up phone surveys occurred. During these tele-health sessions, reinforcement of the education was provided. This pilot study suggests that with improvements, this pilot study strongly supported the use of tele-health on diabetes education reinforcement and the need for on-going education for the latent stage diabetic