Diabetic Education in an Uninsured Patient Population

Abstract Patient education is an important factor in the management of Type 2 Diabetes. Successful outcomes can be causally related to proper patient education. Many times, patients are left with more questions than answers about their newly diagnosed condition. Some groups of patients are affected by prediabetes and diabetes more than other groups. Differences in health status or access to health care among racial, ethnic, geographic, and socioeconomic groups are referred to as health disparities. This is a major concern in the United States for health care providers. A spreadsheet was used to record the blood glucose levels of each patient weekly. An A1c was recorded during the first office visit and then an ending A1c was recorded after 91 days. These levels are used to evaluate the effectiveness of the education provided. Patient education was provided via Power Point presentation. Demographic and financial barriers provided a huge barrier to patient education. There were some patients who were unable to afford most diabetic monitoring supplies. This caused several patients to decline participation in the project. Of the twenty patients, the average beginning A1c was 10.7 and average ending A1c of 8.6. In conclusion, there was a 2.1 reduction in A1c readings. This project has shown that proper patient education in the uninsured patient population can lead to a reduction in the A1c, thus preventing any future complications of Diabetes