Date of Scholarly Project Submission

12-2018

Degree Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Department

Nursing

Faculty Chairperson

Katherine Menard

Second Committee Member

Lisa Flood

Third Committee Member

Kristi Robinia

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is a significant health care concern affecting 30.2 million Americans in 2015. One of the most common, costly, and serious sequela of diabetes is diabetic foot ulceration (DFU), which may lead to lower extremity amputation. Up to 50% of DFUs and lower extremity amputations can be prevented through effective patient education (PE). PE provided through written information is one intervention designed to improve patient understanding and self-management practices in order to reduce the risks and complications of DFU. The purpose of this Doctorate in Nursing Practice (DNP) project was to determine if implementation of a DFU specific written education packet led to increased patient satisfaction in an outpatient wound clinic. Ley’s cognitive model, used as the theoretical framework, served to describe the relationship between understanding and satisfaction within the PE process. The recruitment of subjects took place at a regional Midwestern outpatient wound care center. Patients included in the project were admitted with a lower extremity wound(s) and had been diagnosed with diabetes mellitus. Non-equivalent control (n = 21) and intervention (n = 11) group data were collected from a convenience sample of patients. Quantitative data were gathered via a Likert scale Patient Satisfaction Survey designed by the health care organization. Data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon Rank Sum test. A greater mean score was achieved in the intervention group compared to the control. However, the findings of this study provided insufficient evidence to support a statistical association ii between the provision of this written PE intervention and increased patient satisfaction. Limitations include a small sample size, lack of random sampling, lack of random assignment, and lack of reliability and validity in the Patient Satisfaction Survey. Reflection on these limitations may aid future researchers in designing more robust studies intended to improve quality of care by exploring the effects of PE on satisfaction and understanding.

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