Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects
Access Control
Campus Access
Degree Program
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Degree Track
Family Nurse Practioner
Year Degree Awarded
2021
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/22730628
Month Degree Awarded
May
Keywords
Diabetes education, primary care, nursing
Advisor
Dr. Cynthia Jacelon
DNP Project Chair
Dr. Cynthia Jacelon
DNP Project Outside Member Name
Dr. Cecilia Davis
Abstract
Abstract
Background/Purpose: Diabetes is primarily a self-managed disease. There are 30.3 million Americans living with diabetes. This number is expected to triple by 2060. Primarily specialists are offering diabetes self-management education and support. Primary care provider (PCP) offices need to be better trained in diabetes care so that self-management skills are more accessible to patients. This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project provided an educational intervention to primary care nurses about diabetes care and education. The goal was to improve nurse knowledge and comfort levels in caring for people with diabetes.
Methods: The primary care intervention entailed diabetes experts conducting two four-hour educational sessions on diabetes care, management, and education. The efficacy of this QI project was determined by assessing the change in knowledge and comfort levels of primary care nurses using pre-/post assessments, as well as a program evaluation.
Results: Fourteen participants completed the program. There was a return rate of 79% and 93% for post assessment and program evaluation questionnaires respectively. A 15% increase in participants knowledge was noted following the intervention in knowledge assessments. Participants reported statistically significant improvement in 5 out of 7 comfort level areas. The intervention was rated positively with an average satisfaction score of 93%. Five themes emerged: (1) enjoyable pre-reading, (2) technology issues, (3) in-person preference, (4) positive interaction with facilitators, and (5) overall recommendable program.
Conclusion: This positively rated program helped increase participant comfort and knowledge levels in providing diabetes education to their primary care patients. This useful intervention is beneficial to implement system wide.
Key words: Diabetes education, primary care, nursing
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.