Evaluating A Novel Approach for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patient Education: Modified Team -~ Based Learning

One of the world’s most serious health issues today is the increasing prevalence of diabetes (Chobev, Sotirovska, Mihajilov, 2011). Indeed, the growth of this widespread and pernicious disease has been categorized as epidemic. The antidote for the diabetes epidemic lies in prevention and the use of a chronic care model that focuses on improving diabetes self-management. For both diabetes prevention and self-management, a core component pertains to knowledge—and specifically to improved public health literacy, public health education, and patient education. For example, ongoing patient education is a critical factor in helping patients to manage their diabetes and prevent the micro- and macrovascular complications associated with poorly controlled diabetes. Indeed, in the complex and costly health care reform currently underway in the United States, improving diabetes health literacy and the effectiveness of education—public and patient—must be considered key strategies. For people with diabetes, the need for improving the effectiveness of patient education is great and urgent. In diabetes patient education, many teaching methods are currently in use. However, although these methods may be effective in helping patients in the short-term, long-term success has proven more elusive. The DNP project described in this dissertation will evaluate whether a promising patient education method—modified team-based learning—conducted within a group of peers can be beneficial in helping patients with diabetes to improve self-management problem-solving skills