Diabetes Knowledge Assessment Implementation and Management Education to Improve Pediatric Blood Glucose

Abstract

Problem/Purpose: A Baltimore City children’s hospital cares for about 70 patients with diabetes annually. The unit previously relied on nursing to provide training, resulting in patients being discharged with varied levels of education. The purpose of this quality improvement project is to implement the Diabetic Knowledge Questionnaire (DKQ), a valid and reliable tool, to measure the education patients with diabetes receive with an outcome goal of increased knowledge following diabetic education. Methods: The DKQ was introduced to newly and previously diagnosed patients with diabetes admitted to the children’s hospital over a 16-week implementation period. The child’s guardian filled out the DKQ at admission. Families received uniform diabetic packets of information. Families then filled out a post-education DKQ at discharge. Pre-and post-education DKQ scores were compared to look for improved scores. Results: The children’s hospital admitted 16 eligible patients for diabetes during the intervention. The patients completed the pre-education DKQ and received the packet of information. Fifteen of the patients filled out the post-education DKQ. One patient was discharged without the survey, making this patient ineligible. Those fifteen participants showed improvement from their pre-to post-education scores. Pre-education scores ranged from 0 to 100%. Post-education scores ranged from 75 to 100%. Conclusions: The increased scores suggest that the DKQ can report an improvement in knowledge following a unified education program for patients with diabetes. Staff and families had positive feedback for the DKQ and educational program. Limitations include small number of participants due to limited beds. Names were excluded from the DKQ and may have been filled out by different parents. Sustainability efforts rely on management monitoring for the usage of educational packets and checklists. Keywords: diabetes, pediatrics, Diabetic Knowledge Questionnaire.