Self-care management of African American men with type 2 diabetes

Abstract

<p>African American men are disproportionately affected by type 2 diabetes and have a 3 times higher rate of 3 serious complications of diabetes, including blindness, amputations, and end-stage renal disease, compared to other groups. The purpose of this project was to address the gap-in-practice disparity that exists in care of African American men with diabetes by providing one-on-one self-care management education in an outpatient clinic setting. The behavior change theories that supported the project intervention were Orem&rsquo;s self-care theory and Bandura&rsquo;s self-efficacy theory. Employing a quasi-experimental design, 33 participants between the ages of 40 and 65 were divided into an intervention group (n = 18) and a comparison group ( n = 15) by self-selection. Only participants in the intervention group received the diabetes self-care education program. Both groups completed pretest and the posttest questionnaires that collected demographic data and data from the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities, the Diabetes Knowledge Test, and the Self-Efficacy for Diabetes tool. Statistically significant differences between the groups were found in the posttest scores of self-care activities, diabetes knowledge, and self-efficacy. The differences can most likely be attributed to the diabetes education intervention. This project demonstrated that diabetes self-care management education can be provided effectively in the clinic office setting, making diabetes education more available to and accessible for patients who need it most. Integrating diabetes self-care education into primary care providers&rsquo; offices has the potential to address the gap-in-practice that exists for African American men with type 2 diabetes and contribute to social change by preventing disease progression.</p>