Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects
Access Control
Campus Access
Degree Program
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Degree Track
Public Health Nurse Leader
Year Degree Awarded
2021
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/22763203
Month Degree Awarded
May
Keywords
African Americans, adherence, medications, Exercise, diet, type 2 diabetes
Advisor
Dr. Raeann LeBlanc
DNP Project Chair
Dr. Raeann LeBlanc
Abstract
Background/Purpose. South Carolina ranked the 8th highest state with diabetes in the United States, and one out of six African American adults has been diagnosed with diabetes as compared to one out of eight white adults. According to literature, African American communities consume too much fast foods and consider healthy food to be expensive. The purpose of the study was to determine if an online educational program would improve participants’ ability to self-manage their medications, diets, exercise, and improve their diabetes. Methods. This quality improvement project design applied American Association of Diabetes Education 7 (AADE 7) intervention (for 1-hour session per week for six weeks) to encourage adherence through self-management among African Americans 45 to 85 years in Columbia, South Carolina, diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. The Transtheoretical Model (TTM) of behavioral change was used to encourage patients to change their lifestyles. The intervention was computer-based, and quantitative and qualitative analysis of data was collected to evaluate this program. Results. Posttest results for both Diabetes Self-Management Questionnaire (DSMQ) and Morisky 8-item Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) revealed some benefits of this diabetes self-management education. There was 100% improvement in adherence rate among participants in both DSMQ and MMAS-8 results. The small sample size and limited age may not represent the population. Conclusion. Even though the time frame for this study was very short, and participation was very small (n=5), the result showed that internet-based diabetes education can improve diabetes self-management among African Americans with type two diabetes. Extended time and more participants can provide better evidence of how education can improve diabetes self-management among African Americans.
Keywords: African Americans, adherence, medications, exercise, diet, type 2 diabetes,
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