Degree Name
Nursing Practice, DNP
Publication Date
2017
Upload Date
2024
First Advisor
Debbie Shelton
Abstract
One of the nine standards of diabetes self-management education declares that education should be performed by an instructor with expertise in diabetes education and management or a certified diabetes educator (CDE). The purpose of the study is to measure the prevalence of referrals to CDEs upon discharge for patients admitted with diabetic foot ulcers compared between two hospital populations, Baptist Hospital in Memphis, TN and NEA Baptist in Jonesboro, AR. Data was collected and reviewed to identify the number of patients who received a referral upon discharge and readmissions rates for these patients. Eighty-six patients were included in the study. Results show that 46% of patients did received referral to outpatient education compared to 57% who did not. Mean hemoglobin A1C for patients referred was 7.96% and patients who were not referred had a mean HgbA1C of 8.2%. A paired samples t test was calculated to compare the means of readmissions with and without referral. There was a significant difference between the groups and can conclude that readmissions increase when referral to diabetes education is neglected. An education plan to educate the discharge team needs to be implemented to ensure patients get the recommended resources to manage diabetes. In addition to the education, an EMR order set would be of great value that would include all orders every diabetic patient would need upon discharge from inpatient services.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Toombs, Amber, "A Comparative Study Of CDE Utilization Rates And Hospital Admissions For Foot Ulcerations Between Two Hospitals" (2017). Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects. 8.
https://arch.astate.edu/dnp-projects/8
