Impact Of A Multidisciplinary Education Class On Knowledge And Health-Promoting Behaviors In Persons With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus In Rural Mississippi

Prevalence rates of known diabetes mellitus continue to increase in the United States. However, studies show that people can reduce their risks of long-term complications by maintaining adequate blood sugar control. Good metabolic control, however, can be very difficult for persons with diabetes because it requires knowledge, motivation, lifestyle adjustments, close monitoring, and ongoing support from a health care team. The purpose of this quasi-experimental pretest/posttest study was to determine the impact of a multidisciplinary education class on knowledge and health-promoting behaviors in persons with type 2 diabetes in rural Mississippi. Pender\u27s Health Promotion Model was used as the theoretical framework. Hypotheses for this study included the following: (a) There will be no difference in knowledge of diabetes in persons with type 2 diabetes before and after a multidisciplinary diabetes education program and (b) there will be no difference in health- promoting behaviors of persons with type 2 diabetes before 1 1 1 and after a multidisciplinary diabetes education program. The convenience sample (N = 26) consisted of a majority of individuals who had been diagnosed with diabetes for less than one year (35%) , were Caucasian (92%), and were married (73%). The mean age was 58 years. Diabetes education was provided by a multidisciplinary group of professionals, including a nurse, dietitian, and pharmacist. Data were collected using three instruments. A significant increase in knowledge scores after the educational intervention emerged (p = .038), thus the researcher rejected the first hypothesis. No significant difference was discovered in health-promoting behaviors before and after education (p = .445), thus the second null hypothesis failed to be rejected. Additional findings indicated a positive relationship (p = .02) between the length of time since the diagnosis of diabetes and the amount of knowledge change over time. The longer individuals had been diabetic, the more knowledge change they tended to show as a result of the educational intervention. Findings from this study imply that diabetes education programs should incorporate behavior modification techniques and task-focused interventions aimed at enhancing self-efficacy. Recommendations included conduction of more research utilizing behavior i v modification and task-focused education interventions to assess behavior change outcomes and implementation of qualitative research methods to investigate personal characteristics and health beliefs