Degree Name
Nursing Practice, DNP
Publication Date
9-27-2026
First Advisor
Lisa Drake
Second Advisor
Diane Hare
Abstract
The delivery and documentation of evidence-based adult lifestyle counseling for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) were found to be inconsistent in a clinic that serves an underserved population. This quality improvement (QI) project assessed whether a provider education program based on the 2025 American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) Diabetes Guidelines would improve provider confidence and documentation of lifestyle recommendations. A quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest design was guided by both Pender's Health Promotion Model as the theoretical framework and Lewin's Change Theory as the change theory. The Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) cycle guided this project as the implementation framework. Six primary care providers completed the Confidence Scale prior to and post-education; one patient chart per provider was audited prior to and post-implementation for 11 lifestyle recommendations. There was a statistically significant increase in provider confidence scores from pre-education (M = 19.50, SD = 2.59) to post-education (M = 23.50, SD = 1.76), t(5) = 4.90, p = .002. Documentation of lifestyle recommendations improved post-education (Mdn = 11.00, IQR = 1.00) from the pre-education (Mdn = 9.00, IQR = 1.00), Z = 2.16, p = .02. As a result, this QI project demonstrated increased provider confidence and improved documentation practices. It is anticipated that these results will support continued use of education, electronic health record (EHR) prompts, competency training, and routine audits to sustain evidence-based diabetes care. This QI project supports integrating lifestyle medicine education and standardized documentation across primary care settings.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Recommended Citation
Suber, Rashemia, "Determining Impact on Provider Adherence to Current Diabetes Guidelines: A Quality Improvement Project" (2026). Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects. 412.
https://arch.astate.edu/dnp-projects/412
