Introduction and Objective: Nutrition education is vital for managing type 2 diabetes (T2D). For newly diagnosed patients receiving nutrition education, it is hard to determine how much knowledge is retained during that stressful period. We implemented nutrition assessments at the first comprehensive diabetes visit to evaluate baseline nutrition knowledge. We hypothesize that the quizzes will reinforce nutrition knowledge in newly diagnosed youth with T2D.Methods: A quality improvement project was prospectively conducted to evaluate nutrition knowledge retained following new diagnosis of T2D. We implemented an 18-item nutrition assessment (at the first or second outpatient visit) evaluating nutrition label reading, hypoglycemia/hyperglycemia management, insulin management and physical activity. Data was collected from the medical record, and descriptive and summary statistics were performed.Results: Quizzes were administered to 17 patients and their caregivers, mean patient age 15.1 ± 2.1y, 71% were NH Black, 82% on public insurance, with mean HbA1c 11.3% at diagnosis, and 8.3% at time of assessment. Quizzes were completed by patients (n=9), patient and parent together (n=6) or parent alone (n=2). Mean overall assessment score was 14/18 (74%). Patients scored well on questions about insulin (88% correct) and physical activity (92% correct), but needed additional reinforcement on questions about general nutrition (53% correct) and acute and chronic complications of diabetes (63% correct). Patients with HbA1c <7% scored higher than patients with an HbA1c >7%, (p=0.02).Conclusion: Implementation of nutrition assessments at the first comprehensive diabetes visit is feasible and facilitates nutrition education with the patient and/or caregiver in an engaging manner. Reinforcement of nutrition education is critical for long-term diabetes management and outcomes.
A. Olkowski: None. C. Wu: None. A. Blevins: None. D. Patel: None. E.A. Brown: None. R.M. Wolf: Research Support; Novo Nordisk, Lilly Diabetes. Advisory Panel; Uneo. Research Support; Sanofi.
Source link
Leave a Reply