Degree Name
Nursing Practice, DNP
Publication Date
9-25-2023
Upload Date
2024
First Advisor
Linda Latting
Abstract
Diabetes-related complications are significant in the diabetic patient population in the United States. Appropriate measures must be implemented to ensure that diabetic foot disease is prevented. One suggested approach to stopping the progression of complications is to ensure comprehensive diabetic foot exams and foot care education are performed and documented by providers, as recommended by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) annually. Diabetes poses a public health challenge requiring the implementation of evidence-based guidelines in primary care. This quality improvement project aimed to implement a comprehensive diabetic foot care protocol to impact providers' documentation and performance of foot exams in diabetic patients >18 years, compared to previous practices. A retrospective chart review was done on a sample of 40 patients pre and post implementation. The pre and post-interventions with the provider included education and end of the protocol survey. The findings from the two-tailed Wilcoxon signed rank test suggest a positive impact on documentation and performance of comprehensive diabetic foot exams and diabetic foot care education, with a substantial increase, as a result of implementing the comprehensive diabetic foot care protocol. The findings allowed the clinic to set goals for future education, enhance quality measures, and improve evidence-based practices, including documentation.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Taylor, Kakecha, "Implementation of a Comprehensive Diabetic Foot Care Protocol in a Primary Care Clinic" (2023). Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects. 54.
https://arch.astate.edu/dnp-projects/54
