Diabetes Education Project Abstract, Essay Example

Diabetes is one of the leading causes of preventable death among Americans.  Since there is no known cure for diabetes, skills for chronic disease management for both patients and their families is very important for learning how to cope with the day to day challenges this disease process brings with it.  The following is an abstract for a teaching project to help diabetics cope with their disease.

Location and Target Population of the Project

This project will take place in a local community health education center. It will target an ethnically diverse, mostly young population of adult males and females, largely with lower socioeconomic status.  The project will be a free community service and seek to help those who have this chronic disease manage it better from day to day.  The total number of participants is expected to be around 25.

Topic and Description of the Project

The topic of this educational presentation will be diabetes education; it will seek to education a group of diverse, young adult male and females from low socioeconomic backgrounds about the disease process of diabetes and about how to cope and manage this disease on a day-to-day basis.

Evaluation Tools and Teaching Proposal

Attached, please find the evaluation tools (a pre- and post-test) which will be used to assess the effectiveness of the class, as well as the proposal for this education project.

Diabetes Education Pre-Lesson Evaluation

1. What is considered a normal blood sugar range?
2. 50-300
3. 70-110
4. 90-250
5. 40-140
6. Which of the following foods would be most likely to raise the blood sugar?
7. Asparagus
8. Unsweetened coffee
9. Potato salad
10. Chicken breast
11. How often should you check your feet when you are diabetic?
12. Once a week
13. Daily
14. Monthly
15. Several times a year
16. Which hormone in your body regulates your blood sugar?
17. Testosterone
18. Insulin
19. Estrogen
20. Thyroid hormone

Diabetes Education Post-Test

1. When checking your feet, it is important to look at:
2. The bottom of the feet
3. The back of the heels
4. The spaces between the toes
5. All of the above
6. When you “create a plate” for a diabetic meal, the largest portion should be:
7. Starchy vegetables
8. Meats or eggs
9. Fresh fruit
10. Non-starchy vegetables
11. If you are hypoglycemic, your blood sugar is:
12. Below 70
13. Above 250
14. Below 100
15. Above 140
16. The organ which produces insulin is:
17. The liver
18. The pancreas
19. The lungs
20. The kidneys

Diabetes Education Proposal

This is my proposal for my project on diabetes education, including the assessment of the facility in which my learning project will take place, the sources I used during the planning and implementation phase of my project, the theory of learning I am utilizing on this project and the three teaching-learning concepts I will use to help my audience learn more about day to day diabetes management.

Assessment

The learning environment for my educational project will be a multiuse room in a community health education center.  It is well-lit with ample seating and table space and had a blackboard available as well as equipment for Power Point presentations.  The building is handicapped accessible with handicapped parking/facilities available for anyone who might require them.  Due to diversity of the population I am targeting, any educational handouts will be available in English and Spanish.

Planning and Implementation

To formulate this project, I used several sources to help me plan and concise and understanding approach to the everyday management of diabetes.  My primary source was the American Diabetic Association website (www.diabetes.org) which offers a comprehensive overview of the diabetic disease process and day-to-day diabetic care.  I also utilized the Mayo Clinic website (www.mayoclinic.org) for their excellent patient education section and the National Institute of Health (www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus).

Theory of Learning

The theory of learning I am utilizing on this project is the cognitive constructivist theory.  I chose this because I do think that with a disease process as complex as diabetes, that patients will profit the most by active learning, and not just passively listening to a lecture. I will implement this theory by having activities for the students for each section of the project after the basic introduction, activities that will help them be able to make good food choices, keep and understand a blood sugar log, and learn to do thorough foot checks.

Teaching-Learning Format

The three teaching-learning formats I plan to implement are the lecture, group discussion, and demonstration. The lecture, which will be fairly brief at the beginning of each section of the projection, is to establish a few basic facts about the topic at hand.  The lecture will always be followed by a group discussion and demonstration, which will drive home what has been discussed in the lecture through hands-on learning and also give the patients a chance to share their knowledge and opinions on what is being taught.  At the end of the project, I intend to give a handout of website and resources to each patient so that they can engage, if they wish, in autonomous study to reinforce what they have learned in the class.

Teaching Materials/Media

The teaching materials/media I will use include a Power Point presentation for the lecture portions of the class, with handouts of the presentation for students to take home with them.  I will also be using a CBG log from the American Diabetic Association website to help assist patients in learning how to keep an accurate log.  I will also be using paper plates and markers for the “Create Your Plate” activity, also taken from the ADA website.

Objectives of the Class

The following is an outline of my course objectives, along with their corresponding domains of learning and their place on Bloom’s taxonomic scale.  The first objective is that patients will gain a basic knowledge of diabetic disease process and complications. This would fall under the cognitive domain, with a taxonomic level of knowledge.  The second objective is that patients will gain knowledge of how to make good food choices to manage DM.  This would fall under the affective domain (since it deals with preferences) and a Bloom taxonomic level of comprehension.  The third objective is that patients will gain knowledge of accurate daily blood glucose monitoring.  This will fall under both the psychomotor and comprehensive domains, since patients will have to both understand the concept of blood glucose monitoring and be able to perform it; the Bloom taxonomic level is application. The fourth and final objective is that patients will learn how to do proper daily foot checks and care for feet.  This will fall under both the psychomotor and comprehensive domain for the same reason as above: patients will both need to understand the purposes and methods of foot checks and be able to perform them.  The taxonomic level is application.

Outline of the Learning Plan

Introduction: What is Diabetes?

Diabetes comes in two types, Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 Diabetes affects only about 5% of the Diabetic population and is often diagnosed when the patient is a child or teenager. Type 1 diabetics do not produce insulin, the hormone needed for the body to convert food into energy.  In Type 2 diabetes, the body does produce insulin but does not use it properly: this is called insulin resistance.  The body will try to compensate for this by the pancreas producing more insulin, but cannot keep this up over a long period of time (American Diabetic Association, 2012, p. 1).  Whether you have Type I or Type II diabetes, it means that there is more glucose (sugar) in your blood than normal, and over time this can lead to a number of health complications (Mayo Clinic, 2013, p. 2).

Why does this matter?  Diabetes, especially if untreated or unmanaged, can lead to a variety of other health problems. These problems can include skin problems like carbuncles or infections of the nails; neuropathy, which can cause pain, numbness or tingling, especially in the feet and lower legs; kidney disease, in which the high blood sugar levels damage the filtration system of the kidneys and can eventually lead the kidneys to shut down; and eye problems like glaucoma, cataracts and retinopathy (American Diabetic Association, 2012, p. 2).  The longer you have diabetes, or if your diabetes is poorly controlled, the greater the risk you run of developing some of these complications (Mayo Clinic, 2013, p. 2).

The good news is that with day-to-day management of diabetes, many of these problems can be prevented. This class will touch on three important aspects of diabetes management: food choices, blood glucose monitoring, and daily foot checks.

Blood Sugar Monitoring

Checking your blood sugar levels is a very important part of managing your diabetes; keeping a log of these readings and showing them to your practitioner regularly is also important for your practitioner to be able to evaluate how effective the overall plan of care of diabetes is – things including your diet, your exercise regimen, and what medications you are taking to manage your condition (American Diabetic Association, 2012, p. 4).

Blood sugar ranges: a normal blood sugar range is considered to be between 70 and 110.  If your blood sugar is above this number, it is considered to be hyperglycemic. If it is below this number, it is considered to be hypoglycemic.  Signs of symptoms of hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) include increased urination and increased thirst.  Signs and symptoms of hypoglycemia include shakiness, irritability, confusion, sweating, hunger, blurred vision and sleepiness.  Because hypoglycemia can become very serious very quickly, it is important to treat this as soon as possible and about 15-20g of carbohydrates is recommended: this could be in the form of glucose tablets, 2tbsp raisins, ½ cup orange juice or regular soda, 1 tbsp. honey, corn syrup or sugar, or 8oz milk (American Diabetic Association, 2012, p. 4).  Once you have taken one of these, wait 15 minutes and recheck your blood sugar. If it is still low, repeat with another 15-20g of carbohydrates.  Once the blood sugar stabilizes, follow this up with a snack of both a carbohydrate and protein to help stabilize your sugars (National Institute of Health, 2010, p. 6).

Activity: pass out the blood sugar monitoring logs from the ADA website (note: you will find these on the ADA website under the Checking Your Blood Glucose section) and show them how to fill them out, using made-up numbers.  Quiz the students on if these values would be considered normal, high, or low and what to do in any of these situations.

Diabetes Management: Food Choices

“What can I eat?” or “What should I not eat?” are two questions frequently asked by many diabetics, and getting a hang of the diabetic diet can be one of the most frustrating parts of diabetes management.  DM is definitely a disease that can be strongly influenced by diet, and certain foods will make your blood sugar spike up higher and faster than others. In general, the ADA recommends you avoid excessive alcohol, products which contain refined white flour or added sugar (or both), and, because diabetes can also lead to heart problems, it recommends avoiding foods high in saturated fats like whole milk, full-fat cheese, sausage, and bacon).  A better way to manage the diabetic diet, however, can be to focus in on foods that you CAN have, and the ADA recommends a balanced approach to meal planning to help.  Our next activity will be to show you how to balance your meals (American Diabetic Association, 2012, p. 6).

Activity: Create Your Plate.  Pass out white paper plates and markers to each participant. Have them draw a line down the middle of the plate, then halve one section of the plate to give the plate three sections in total.  One the largest section of the plate, have them write NON-STARCHY VEGETABLES and list things in that section like spinach, carrots, lettuce, greens, cabbage, cucumbers, okra, etc.  Have the class participate to list as many as they can.  Do the same for one of the smaller plate sections: write down PROTEIN and list things like skinless turkey or chicken, fish, tofu, reduced fat cheese, etc.,  For the third small section, write down STARCHES and have clients list things like potatoes, whole grain pasta, brown rice, beans, tortillas, etc.  They can add a portion of fruit or dairy and a low-calorie drink to make a complete meal (American Diabetic Association, 2012, p. 8).

Diabetic Food Care

Diabetics are more likely to get a condition called neuropathy, which damages the nerves in the feet and the lower leg, and can lessen ability to feel heat, cold or pain and so a diabetic might not know that he or she has or is developing a foot problem such as a cut, blister, callus, dry and cracking skin or even an ulcer.  Because diabetics also have poor circulation, wound healing can be difficult or impossible and it is sometimes necessary to amputate.   The good news: most amputations can be avoided by wearing properly fitted shoes and socks (diabetic footwear is recommended) and by good foot care (American Diabetic Association, 2012, p. 12).

Good foot care should include all of the following: keeping the CBG’s in good range to avoid problems in the first place; checking all surfaces of the feet daily for red spots, cuts, swelling, blisters, or any other abnormality; getting properly-fitting socks and shoes; washing feet every day and drying them thoroughly, especially between the toes; using lotion to help keep skin soft; keeping toenails neat and trimmed and having someone do your toenails for you if you cannot do them yourself; protecting the feet by not going barefoot (American Diabetic Association, 2012, p. 12).

Activity: have the clients take off their socks and shoes and inspect their feet. Go around and point out to them places that are easier to miss, like the spaces between the toes, the back of the heel, and the bottom of the foot, which can be harder to inspect.

Conclusion

Diabetes, like many other chronic conditions, can be frustrating or difficult to deal with since it has to be handled on a daily basis.  But patients who consistently make good food choices, who keep their blood sugars in good range and who perform daily foot checks can prevent many of the more difficult complications associated with this disease.

To encourage you all to study up on this more once this class is over, I am handing out a list of useful website that you can refer to if you want additional information.

Hand-Out: Helpful Website for Further Information on Diabetes

• American Diabetic Association: diabetes.org

This is a comprehensive website dedicated solely to diabetes education and helping patients manage their condition from day to day.  If you want information on diabetes support groups near you, you can also call their number at 800-342-2383. Much of their website is also available in Spanish.

• Mayo Clinic: www.mayoclinic.org

The Mayo Clinic has an extensive section on patient health information on their website and their section on Diabetes is well-written and thorough.

• Medline Plus: www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus

This is a site for patient information put out by the National Institute of Health, and covers all aspects of diabetes care and treatment. Much of their website is also available in Spanish.

• World Health Organization: www.who.int

This international organization has is another excellent resource for diabetes information through their Media Center Factsheets.

Teaching Evaluation

What follows is an evaluation of the diabetes education course I taught at our local community health education center.  It will include a discussion of the learning theory, formats and materials I implemented in this project, as well as a discussion as to whether or not my objectives were appropriate to the aggregate I was teaching.

Learning Theory, Format and Materials

In general, I was pleased with using the cognitive constructivist theory for this project, because I feel like active learning was being promoted through the variety of activities that we did, especially the Create Your Plate activity: this was a basic and low-tech activity with paper plates and markets, but I feel like it really drove home the ideas of what makes a healthy, balanced meal for a diabetic.  Patients were able to explore this concept, as well as keeping a blood sugar journal and inspecting the feet, through hands-on demonstrations and back-and-forth group discussion both with me and their peers. I also think that the Power Point presentation for the expository portion of the project was useful, since it allowed patients to see what I was lecturing about as well as hear it, and enabled them to all go home with copies of the presentation to have something to refer back to if they wished. The combination of lecture and practice sessions seemed to work well with this group.  I feel like the objectives I set out at the beginning of the project were reasonable for this group.

Modifications

One modification I had to make during the project that I did not plan on were the number of questions that students had about the introduction, in which I talked about the diabetic disease process in general.  I took extra time out, before moving on to the first lecture/practice activity on blood sugar logs, explaining a in more depth than I had intended about the basics of diabetes and why blood sugar is such a health issue.  I think if I repeat this project in the future, I will allow more time for the basic lecture on diabetic disease process.

Meeting the Learning Objectives

At the beginning of the class, before the lecture started, I passed out my pre-session test.  It was a simple test of four questions which corresponded to the four parts of my educational project and at the end of the project, I passed out a post-test. Again, this had four questions on it on each of the sections I had taught on.  In most cases, the students did better on the post-test than on the pre-test, which makes indicates to me that knowledge was assimilated during this project.

Changes I Would Make

If I were doing this course over again, I think one thing I would do is to spend more time at the beginning of class just discussing the basics of the diabetes process and answering questions that patients might have about it: I was surprised by the number of misconceptions patients had on what diabetes is and how it affects the body.  I think I would also, if time permitted, add a section on medical control of diabetes and talk about both insulin and oral hypoglycemic: however, I was worried that, since this is such a big topic, that it might not be better to have this particular issue dealt with in a class all by itself.   I would also like, if possible, for students to bring their glucometers to class next time so that we could have a practice session, incorporated into the keeping a blood sugar log activity, of actually taking the blood sugars in class to make sure they are doing in correctly.  Overall, though, I was happy with the way the class went and I do feel that patients took away with them a better knowledge of some of the most important aspects of diabetic management: keeping a log, eating healthy, and taking proper care of their feet.

References

Website.  American Diabetic Association.  (May, 2012).  Retrieved from www.ada.org

Website.  Mayo Clinic.  (November, 2013). Retrieved from www.mayoclinic.org

Website.  National Institute of Health.  (July, 2010).  Retrieved from www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus