This capstone project examined the impact of a diabetes educational program on readmission rates of baby boomers in a sub-acute nursing home setting. A needs assessment at a New York City nursing home found an increase in readmissions among baby boomers with diabetes and related complications, likely due to a lack of diabetes management knowledge. The researcher implemented a pre- and post-survey design to better understand patient and nurse knowledge before an educational program. Preliminary findings suggest diabetes education may improve management and reduce readmissions. The goal is to enhance caregiver and patient management of this complex illness through better self-care, education, exercise and eating habits.

1. TheRelationshipbetweenDiabetesEducationalProgramandReadmissionRatesof
BabyBoomers
AldrinWilliamton
ABCUniversity
Abstract
DiabetesisconsideredastheseventhleadingcausesoffatalityintheUSA.Thisis
despiteadvancementsinthemedicalfield(DiseaseControlCenter,2013).Management
andeducationaboutDiabetesisakeytocurtailingthespreadofthisillness.Asbaby
boomerscontinuetoageintheUS,diagnosesofDiabetescontinuetoincrease,
causingthisdiseasetoreachunprecedentedepidemicproportions(Shakar&Matel,
2015).A nursinghomeintheNew YorkCityperformedanassessmentin2014,
revealinganincreaseintheoverallreadmissionofresidentswhoaredealingwith
diabetes,diabetes,aswellasrelatedcomplications.Thesefactsledtothequestionpresentedin
thisproject:Doesaneducationalprogramaboutdiabetesinasub-acutesettinglessen
the30-dayreadmissionratesofbabyboomersinthehospital?Theaim ofthis
evidence-basedprojectwastofocusontheimpactofadiabeteseducationalprogram
onreadmissionrates.Theendgoalofthisprojectistoenhancethemanagementof
caregiversandpatientsofthiscomplicatedillness.
Managementsofthisillnessalsoincludebetterexercise,eatinghabits,self-careand
educationofthediabeticpatientstothereductionintheadverseeffectsoftheillness.
Theresearcherutilizedapreandpostsurveydesignedinbetterunderstandingthe
knowledgeofpatientsandnursesregardingdiabetesbeforetheactualeducation
program.Thefindingsoutoftheassessmenthassuggestedthatdiabeticeducationfor
thepatientsmayimproveitsmanagementwhilereducingreadmissionrates.
NursingCapstoneProjectProposalExample

2. Chapter1
TheDiseaseControlandPreventionCentershavereportedthattheoverallcost
involvedindiagnosingandtreatingdiabetescontinuestoriseyearafteryear.Type2
diabeteshappensinabout99%ofallthediabeticpatients.Mostbabyboomerswhoare
sufferingfromthisdiseaseeventuallydevelopType2diabetes,whichwaspreviously
referredtoasadultonsetdiabetes.Stewart,BlakeandAnderson(2011)definedbaby
boomersasthosewhowerebornbetweentheyears1946and1964.Inthisagegroup,
Type2diabeteshappenswhenthebodynolongerproducesenoughamountofinsulin
withinthebodycellsorifthecellshavealreadybecomeinsulinresistant.withinthebodycellsorifthecellshavealreadybecomeinsulinresistant.
NatureoftheProject
Inordertofurtherunderstandthecurrentknowledgeofpatientsandcaregivers
regardingmanagementofdiabetes,anursinghomeinNewYorkCitywassuccumbed
intoaneedsassessment.Theanalysisoftheassessmenthasshowedanincreasein
thereadmissionratesofthepatientsamongtheso-calledbabyboomersgenerationas
aresultofalackinknowledgeregardingproperdiabetesmanagement.Theuseofthe
PICOTframeworkisanidealmodeltouseinhighlightingtheelementsinvolvedinthe
clinicalquestion,whiledevelopingaspecificdiabeteseducationalprogramparticularly
meantmeantforbabyboomers.Thisframeworkhelpedinstructuringtheclinicalquestion
whichresultedtomoreusefulresults.
Limitations
Thesurveymethodusedinthisstudyhaselicitedvariousresponsescomingfrom
potentialparticipants.Thetruthfulnessandaccuracyoftheresponsesarenotableto
bemeasuredfully.Ontopofthat,alimitedsampledatausingtheN=9formulationhas
dischargedpatientswhoparticipatedintheeducationalprogram.Thisposedfurther
challengesandlimitations.Asaresult,thestudymaynotbeviewedassomething
generalizedwithotherhealthcarepractitioners.Thelimitationswerealsooffsetbya
numberofstrengthsthatareinherenttothemodelused,takingintoaccountthe
completecompletesystem,aswellasthepatients,organizationandproviders.Despiteallof
thesestrengths,themodelusedisnotwithoutlimitations,whichshouldalsobe
consideredasalimitationofitsown.Restrictionsalsoincludethecreationofan

3. Conclusions
Thiscapstoneprojectpresentedthattheimplementationofadiabeteseducation
program atnursinghomeshasreducedreadmissionrates,especiallyamongbaby
boomers.Soastobecomeanexpertintheenvironmentofhealthcare,cliniciansand
nursesshouldtakeownershipoftheirresponsibilitiesbyenhancingtherequiredskills,
discovering and managing the responsescoming from the patients,aswellas
completingtheneededhealthtasks.Asaresult,illnessesarereducedtoamanageable
levelwhenhealthcareworkersworkinpromotingactivitiesthatencourageschanging,
aswellasmaintainingbehaviorswhichleadtoaswellasmaintainingbehaviorswhichleadtokeepinghealthychoices.
References
Disease ControlCenter(2013).Nationalfactsheet– Diabetes.Retrieved from
http://www.dcc.gov/diabetes/factsheet/2012.pdf
Shakar,G.A.&Matel,F.(2015).Implementingevidencesintothenursingpractice
through the IOWA model. Journal of Nursing, 22, 663-667. doi:
12.35345/hdygsrdg/1100.23.21.324
Stewart,H.,Blake,Q.& Anderson,W.(2011).Diabetesandobesityamongbaby
boomers:Theneedtoact.ClinicalGerontologyReviews,21,136-149.