
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects
Access Control
Open Access
Embargo Period
10-11-2020
Degree Program
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Degree Track
Family Nurse Practioner
Year Degree Awarded
2020
Month Degree Awarded
May
Keywords
type 1 diabetes, children, parents, support group, peer support, group interventions
Advisor
Cynthia S. Jacelon, PhD RN-BC CRRN FGSA FAAN
DNP Project Chair
Cynthia S. Jacelon, PhD RN-BC CRRN FGSA FAAN
DNP Project Member Name
Rushika M. Conroy, MD, MS
Abstract
Background: Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is one of the most common life-long endocrine disorders in children and adolescents. Attending to the psychosocial and emotional needs of children with T1D and their families is fundamental in attaining optimal clinical health outcomes. Diabetes Day is a collaborative effort that is offered at a pediatric endocrinology clinic in Western Massachusetts. The Diabetes Day team spends multiple hours planning, recruiting and implementing Diabetes Day as a way to provide this requested support; however, participation rates of families continues to decrease.Purpose: The purpose of this DNP project was to evaluate the process of planning, implementation and evaluation of Diabetes Day to improve family participation and attendance. Methods: The plan, do, study, act (PDSA) model was used to implement this QI project consisting of qualitative questionnaires from Diabetes Day family participants as well as the Diabetes Day staff.
Results: Barriers to participation included a fear of missing work/school or the time of the day. Suggestions for improving the implementation process include updating recruitment methods, sharing the burden of recruitment, and providing more education to families describing Diabetes Day.
Conclusion: Successful implementation of Diabetes Day can provide improved diabetes management and patient outcomes. The results of this project will continue to be used to guide the Diabetes Day team to uncover additional barriers to participation that can be overcome using a different approach to recruitment resulting in an increase in family participation.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.