First Advisor

Whalen, Kathleen

Second Advisor

Cullen, Patricia

College

Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice

School

Loretto Heights School of Nursing

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Number of Pages

124 pages

Abstract

Research strongly supports the use of an educational intervention to improve nurses’ knowledge of management of patients with diabetes (Abduelkarem & Shareif, 2013; Holmes & Dyer, 2012; Modic et al., 2013; Yacoub et al., 2014; Young, 2011). Nursing leadership in a small rural acute care facility voiced concerns related to ineffective communication among bedside nurses and lack of evidence-based knowledge in regard to prompt recognition, treatment and follow-up of episodic hypoglycemic and hyperglycemic reactions. The researcher used a convenience sample of 65 registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs) from the critical care, progressive care, obstetrics, and medical-surgical units and a pre-test/post-test quasi-experimental design to evaluate whether an educational program on diabetes management would improve nursing knowledge of management of hospitalized patients with diabetes. Based on the quantitative analysis of the means from the study’s pre- and post- Diabetic Knowledge Tests (DKT) [Michigan Diabetes Research Training Center (MDRTC), 2015], research findings supported the implementation of the educational intervention (p =.000). DKT reliability was measured at .881 and the pre-test and post-test scores showed strong correlation (r = .865). The major limitations of the study were the small sample size and lack of generalizability to other settings. The most important implication of this study is that the researcher plans to collaborate with nursing staff and leadership at this facility and assist with facilitating a diabetes management educational program for new hires and in-services as needed.

Date of Award

Summer 2016

Location (Creation)

Colorado (state); Denver (county); Denver (inhabited place)

Rights Statement

All content in this Collection is owned by and subject to the exclusive control of Regis University and the authors of the materials. It is available only for research purposes and may not be used in violation of copyright laws or for unlawful purposes. The materials may not be downloaded in whole or in part without permission of the copyright holder or as otherwise authorized in the “fair use” standards of the U.S. copyright laws and regulations.

Included in

Nursing Commons

Share

COinS