Print

Westervelt, Anna

Nursing

2011

MS

The number of adults with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is rapidly increasing, and with this diagnosis comes a significant increase in morbidity and mortality. There is a focus on providing diabetes education for this population in an effort to improve physiologic outcomes, and thus decrease the resulting morbidity and mortality associated with this disease. This study evaluates Hemoglohin A1e (HbA1c), fasting blood glucose (fbg) levels, lipid profiles, and blood pressure (BP) readings, all of which are measurements of diabetes control, prior to and following participation in an ADA-approved group diabetes education program. A retrospective chart review was conducted on 28 adults with T2DM receiving care at a community hospital in the northeastern United States. Data was analyzed using paired and two sample t-tests, and Wilcoxon signed rank and rank sum tests. Results ofthis study showed that following participation in group diabetes education classes, High. Density Lipoprotein (HDL) levels increased to a statistically significant degree. While there were positive trends in improvement offbg, systolic BP, and Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL,) levels, these did not reach statistical significance.
It was also noted that those subjects attending a higher number of classes (between 4 and 6,) versus those attending fewer classes (between 1 and 3,) had improvements in fbg, systolic and diastolic BP, HDL and Very Low Density Lipoprotein (VLDL) levels, though these did not reach statistical significance. Based on these results, it appears that participation in group diabetes education programs may provide a modest benefit in outcomes for adults with T2DM, though further research is warranted.