{"title":"Improving diabetes care of community-dwelling underserved older adults.","authors":"Zyrene Marsh, Yamini Teegala, Valerie Cotter","doi":"10.1097/JXX.0000000000000773","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Diabetes care among rural underserved older adults is negatively affected by social determinants of health (SDOH). Although there is an increased awareness of this problem, evidence-based clinical and community interventions are not widely integrated. This project implemented telemedicine and community health worker (CHW) interventions to improve diabetes management and outcomes.</p><p><strong>Local problem: </strong>One in five older adults with diabetes mellitus (DM) at a Federally Qualified Health Center in southwest Ohio has uncontrolled disease, largely due to their limited resources and ability to participate in routine clinical management.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This quality improvement project used a pre-post intervention design. Participants were adults aged ≥65 years with uncontrolled DM type 1 or 2. The outcomes of interest included A1C values, diabetes self-care activities, diabetes knowledge, and patient and health care provider (HCP) satisfaction levels.</p><p><strong>Interventions: </strong>The project involved biweekly CHW home visits and diabetes self-management education for 12 weeks. The CHWs, with supervision from a nurse practitioner, conducted SDOH assessments and basic education, and facilitated same-day telemedicine appointments with the HCP to reinforce disease management.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The A1C levels and diabetes knowledge of older adults significantly improved after three months. However, there were no statistically significant changes in diabetes self-care activities. The patients and HCPs were highly satisfied with the project interventions.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This project delivered patient-centered and equitable diabetes care services that were previously unavailable to underserved older patients, while demonstrably improving outcomes. Future research should evaluate the cost-effectiveness, long-term impact, and sustainability of the project in other primary care settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":48812,"journal":{"name":"Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners","volume":"34 10","pages":"1156-1166"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2000,"publicationDate":"2022-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1097/JXX.0000000000000773","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 1
Abstract
Background: Diabetes care among rural underserved older adults is negatively affected by social determinants of health (SDOH). Although there is an increased awareness of this problem, evidence-based clinical and community interventions are not widely integrated. This project implemented telemedicine and community health worker (CHW) interventions to improve diabetes management and outcomes.
Local problem: One in five older adults with diabetes mellitus (DM) at a Federally Qualified Health Center in southwest Ohio has uncontrolled disease, largely due to their limited resources and ability to participate in routine clinical management.
Methods: This quality improvement project used a pre-post intervention design. Participants were adults aged ≥65 years with uncontrolled DM type 1 or 2. The outcomes of interest included A1C values, diabetes self-care activities, diabetes knowledge, and patient and health care provider (HCP) satisfaction levels.
Interventions: The project involved biweekly CHW home visits and diabetes self-management education for 12 weeks. The CHWs, with supervision from a nurse practitioner, conducted SDOH assessments and basic education, and facilitated same-day telemedicine appointments with the HCP to reinforce disease management.
Results: The A1C levels and diabetes knowledge of older adults significantly improved after three months. However, there were no statistically significant changes in diabetes self-care activities. The patients and HCPs were highly satisfied with the project interventions.
Conclusions: This project delivered patient-centered and equitable diabetes care services that were previously unavailable to underserved older patients, while demonstrably improving outcomes. Future research should evaluate the cost-effectiveness, long-term impact, and sustainability of the project in other primary care settings.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (JAANP) is a monthly peer-reviewed professional journal that serves as the official publication of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.
Published since 1989, the JAANP provides a strong clinical focus with articles related to primary, secondary, and tertiary care, nurse practitioner education, health policy, ethics and ethical issues, and health care delivery. The journal publishes original research, integrative/comprehensive reviews, case studies, a variety of topics in clinical practice, and theory-based articles related to patient and professional education. Although the majority of nurse practitioners function in primary care, there is an increasing focus on the provision of care across all types of systems from acute to long-term care settings.