Date of Award
2023
Document Type
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Department
Nursing
Committee Chair
Bethany Gilbert
Committee Member
Laura L. Williams
Subject(s)
Type 2 diabetes--Diagnosis, Type 2 diabetes--Treatment, Medical screening, Preventive medicine
Abstract
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a widespread disease affecting people at the national, regional, and local levels and often remains undiagnosed. Prediabetes is even more prevalent and is a significant risk factor for developing T2DM in the future. Shoals Community Clinic is a 501(c)3 non-profit primary care clinic in Florence, Alabama. At Shoals Community Clinic, there was no routine practice of a systematic T2DM screening and treatment protocol, which led to an ineffectiveness in identifying many individuals with undiagnosed T2DM or prediabetes. The project leader initiated a clinical practice change within the clinic to improve diabetes screening rates and provide earlier treatment to the individuals identified through the screening process. The change was achieved by implementing a newly developed systematic screening and treatment protocol into the current workflow. The project leader trained the existing healthcare providers on implementing the process and oversaw the project until completion. The providers followed the standard of care for treating a patient with newly diagnosed T2DM or prediabetes, including teaching lifestyle modifications and treatment with metformin. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the collected data, and relative distribution tables were created to display the findings. By the end of the project, 32 patients were screened for diabetes, totaling a screening rate of 39.51%. By the end of the project, 2.46% of patients were diagnosed with T2DM, and 4.96% were identified as prediabetic. As a result, 100% of patients identified through this clinical practice change received standard-of-care treatment. This clinical practice change increased screening rates and impacted early identification and treatment of T2DM and prediabetes. Shoals Community Clinic will continue implementing this standard of care within its daily routine and educating patients about its importance.
Recommended Citation
Looser, Melanie B., "Increasing type 2 diabetes screening and treatment rates at a community clinic" (2023). Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP). 74.
https://louis.uah.edu/uah-dnp/74