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1 Running head: GUIDED IMAGERY AND PROGRESSIVE MUSCLE RELAXATION Scholar-Practitioner Project: Diabetes
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Running head: GUIDED IMAGERY AND PROGRESSIVE MUSCLE RELAXATION
Scholar-Practitioner Project: Diabetes
MD5SPPChia, W
07/30/2023
Scholar-Practitioner Project: Diabetes
Diabetes is a common chronic disorder with an increasing incidence worldwide that presents serious problems for both patients and healthcare systems (Cole & Florez, 2020). The effective management of diabetes significantly depends on patient education and involvement, despite the fact that contemporary medical developments have made a variety of treatment choices available. This essay tries to examine the significant contribution made by nurses and other healthcare workers in teaching diabetes patients about their condition, its effects, and ways to avoid future problems. Despite the vital work done by healthcare professionals, studies have shown that not all patients seem to get the same benefits from these training programs. As a result, the current study aims to investigate how patient education and the prognosis of diabetes are related. We want to shed light on the critical role education plays in enabling patients to take control of their health and eventually improve illness outcomes by analyzing the efficacy of educational treatments, taking into account variables that may limit their influence, and looking at pertinent metrics. Through this study, we seek to improve diabetes treatment, bridge the knowledge gap between patients and healthcare providers, and promote a more proactive approach to diabetes management.
Research question
Is there a correlation between the frequency with which a patient visits a diabetes nurse educator, a dietitian, or a nutritionist and the risk of suffering from complications like retinopathy?
Research hypotheses
Null Hypothesis (H0): There is no correlation between the frequency of patient visits to a diabetes nurse educator, a nutritionist, or a dietitian and the risk of suffering from complications like retinopathy.
Alternative Hypothesis (H1): There is a correlation between the frequency of patient visits to a diabetes nurse educator, a nutritionist, or a dietitian and the risk of suffering from complications like retinopathy.
The null hypothesis states that there is no meaningful association between the number of patient visits to diabetes educators and the development of complications, notably retinopathy, in this research. The alternative theory, on the other hand, contends that there is a connection between the likelihood of developing retinopathy and the number of visits to these medical specialists. The research intends to accept or reject these hypotheses by doing suitable statistical analyses and reviewing pertinent patient data, offering insightful information on the importance of patient education in avoiding retinopathy and influencing diabetes treatment techniques.
Research variables
The current study investigates if there may be a link between patient visits to dietitians, nutritionists, or diabetic nurse educators and the likelihood of developing problems, especially diabetes-related retinopathy. This study acknowledges the critical role that patient support and education, as offered by healthcare professionals, including dietitians, nutritionists, and diabetic nurse educators, have in the treatment of diabetes. This research aims to shed light on the value of educational engagement in diabetes treatment by examining the association between patient visit frequency and complication risk.
A categorical variable is used to classify patients depending on how long it has been since their previous visit to the aforementioned experts in order to evaluate the frequency of patient visits. A value of 1 denotes clients who have seen these specialists within the last year, demonstrating ongoing and regular participation in diabetes education. A moderate degree of educational participation is indicated by the fact that those with a code of 2 saw the experts more than a year ago but no more than two years ago. Patients with a code of 3 indicate intermittent educational engagement, with their most recent visit having occurred more than two years but no more than five years ago. Patients with a code of 4 saw the experts more than five years ago, indicating infrequent involvement in educational activities. In addition, patients with a number of 5 are individuals who have never seen these doctors, perhaps indicating restricted access to diabetes assistance and education. In addition, a code of 9 recognizes the risk of non-response bias by accounting for patients who declined to respond.
The research tracks the number of patient visits and uses a categorical variable to assess the existence of diabetes-related retinopathy. A patient with a confirmed diagnosis of retinopathy, indicating the incidence of this serious consequence, has a code of 1. In contrast, a code of 2 designates individuals without a retinopathy diagnosis, indicating the absence of this specific problem. In order to account for any gaps in medical knowledge, individuals who are unsure of whether they have been diagnosed with retinopathy are given a code of 9.
The goal of the study is to gain important insights into whether patient education, as indicated by the number of visits to dietitians, nutritionists, and diabetes educators, affects the risk of developing diabetes-related retinopathy. Improving diabetes treatment and patient outcomes requires an understanding of the possible relationship between educational engagement and complication risk. A more proactive and individualized approach to diabetes treatment may also be fostered by looking into the elements that affect patient participation in educational programs. This research aims to investigate this significant link and adds to the body of information targeted at improving the overall well-being of individuals with diabetes by optimizing diabetes management and reducing complications.
Descriptive analysis
To better comprehend the nominal variables under consideration, a thorough descriptive statistical analysis was conducted as part of the study’s first phase. The frequency of patient visits to diabetic nurse educators, nutritionists, or dietitians, as well as the diagnosis of diabetes-related retinopathy, are both categorical variables in the proposed research. Hence a frequency table was used for the analysis. The distribution of answers among the categories of each variable may be clearly seen thanks to this tabulation technique.
The frequency table for the variable measuring the number of times patients visit the designated healthcare providers is shown in Table 1. The numbers and corresponding percentages of patients falling into each group are shown in the table. The findings provided insightful information on the participants’ patterns of educational engagement. The percentage of patients who recently visited diabetes educators and those who interacted with them less often were also shown. The chart also included the proportion of patients who had never seen these experts, which may have shown discrepancies in access to diabetes assistance and education.
The frequency table for the variable corresponding to the diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy was shown in Table 2. The numbers and percentages of patients were broken down in this table depending on whether or not retinopathy was officially diagnosed in each group of patients. It provided information on the frequency of this particular complication among research participants and made it possible to gauge the general risk of retinopathy in the study group.
How long ago saw a diabetes specialist
Frequency
Percentage
Valid percentage
Cumulative valid percentage
Valid
1
276
2,9
32,4
32,4
2
64
,7
7,5
39,9
3
86
,9
10,1
49,9
4
85
,9
10,0
59,9
5
330
3,4
38,7
98,6
9
12
,1
1,4
100,0
Total
853
8,9
100,0
Missing
8722
91,1
Total
9575
100,0
Table 1. Descriptive statistical analysis of the variable “How long ago saw a diabetes specialist.”
Diabetes-affected eyes/had retinopathy.
Frequency
Percentage
Valid percentage
Cumulative valid percentage
Valid
1
194
2,0
22,9
22,9
2
644
6,7
76,1
99,1
9
8
,1
,9
100,0
Total
846
8,8
100,0
Missing
8729
91,2
Total
9575
100,0
Table 2. Descriptive statistical analysis of the variable “Diabetes affected eyes/had retinopathy.”
How recently did the participants visit a diabetic specialist? is a question that is answered by the frequency table in Figure 1. 8.9% of the entries in the database out of the total amount of data that was gathered were deemed legitimate and included in the study. The participant’s educational interactions with dietitians, nutritionists, or diabetic nurse educators might be specifically examined using this subset of the data.
According to the legitimate replies, it was discovered that 32.4% of the participants had recently engaged in educational activity by visiting a diabetic nurse educator, which is a pretty high level. A moderate frequency of educational encounters is also indicated by the 7.5% of respondents who had previously visited these experts more than a year ago but less than two years ago. Additionally, 10.1% of the individuals had sought out diabetes specialists more than two but less than five years before, suggesting sporadic educational involvement over a longer time. Notably, 10.0% of the respondents said they had visited them more than five years before, showing rare encounters with diabetes experts. The participants’ lack of access to nutritionists, dietitians, or diabetic nurse educators, which made up a considerable number of the group (387. %), may be an indicator of the availability of diabetes education and support being restricted.
In relation to the diagnosis of retinopathy, Figure 2 presents the findings of the descriptive statistical analysis. It was found that 22,9% of the participants had retinopathy, which was identified among the valid data obtained, which included around 8.8% of the records. This result shows that the research participants were often affected by this specific problem. The majority of patients, or 76.1%, had not yet received a retinopathy diagnosis, indicating a comparatively reduced risk of this consequence in the research cohort. Additionally, 0.9% of the respondents said they were unsure whether they had been given a retinopathy diagnosis, which may have been due to uncertainty or a lack of knowledge on their medical history.
Inferential analysis
In statistics, correlation refers to the connection between two or more variables and the degree to which they often change simultaneously. It gauges how closely two variables are related and might be positive (both rise simultaneously), negative (one grows while the other drops), or not correlated at all (no discernible pattern between the variables). A non-parametric statistical technique called a Spearman correlation test is used to evaluate the direction and strength of the monotonic connection between ordinal or non-normally distributed variables.
As both of the variables under investigation in this study—the frequency of patient visits to diabetes nurse educators, nutritionists, or dietitians—and the diagnosis of diabetes-related retinopathy—are categorical in nature, a Spearman correlational test was chosen to address the inferential analysis. The possible link between these variables was examined using the Spearman coefficient because of their qualitative character.
The findings of the Spearman correlation test gave strong support for the hypothesis that there is a connection between the likelihood of developing retinopathy and the frequency of patient visits to diabetic experts. The calculated Spearman coefficient (S = 0.093) showed a positive association, indicating that there is a trend for a greater risk of retinopathy as the number of visits to these experts rises. At a 0.05 level of significance, the related p-value (p = 0.007) indicates that there is sufficient data to reject the null hypothesis.
The rejection of the null hypothesis indicates that there is a significant statistical relationship between engaging in educational activities with dietitians, nutritionists, or diabetic nurse educators and the likelihood of developing diabetes-related retinopathy. These findings carry significant implications for the management of diabetes, underscoring the importance of providing patients with support and education to prevent issues like retinopathy. The identified positive link underscores the necessity for a more proactive and specialized approach to diabetes management, prioritizing improved patient access to therapies and educational resources that can reduce the chances of complications.
These findings reveal that there is a strong correlation between engaging in educational activities with dietitians, nutritionists, or diabetic nurse educators and the likelihood of developing diabetes-related retinopathy. This has significant implications for diabetes treatment, underscoring the importance of providing patients with support and educational resources to prevent retinopathy and similar issues. The study’s positive findings underscore the necessity of implementing more targeted and proactive approaches to managing diabetes, including improving patient access to therapies and educational aids that can reduce the risk of complications.
Correlations
How long ago saw a diabetes specialist
Diabetes-affected eyes/had retinopathy
Rho de Spearman
How long ago saw a diabetes specialist
Correlation coefficient
1,000
,093**
Two-sided p-value
.
,007
N
853
846
Diabetes-affected eyes/had retinopathy
Correlation coefficient
,093**
1,000
Two-sided p-value
,007
.
N
846
846
Relevance of the obtained result for the medical practice
The outcome of the correlational analysis used in the research has enormous implications for medical practice, especially in terms of managing diabetes and preventing complications. One of the most common and serious sequelae of diabetes is retinopathy, which has a significant negative influence on quality of life and visual health (Teo et al., 2021; Wong & Sabanayagam, 2019). In order to effectively reduce the risk of developing diabetes-related complications, including retinopathy, the research findings highlight the critical importance of routine visits to diabetes specialists, such as diabetes nurse educators, nutritionists, or dietitians (Li, Gu, & Guo, 2019; Shi et al., 2023).
These findings are very relevant since they have the ability to change and inform medical procedures related to patient education and diabetes treatment. The crucial role of patient support and education in reducing diabetes complications is shown by the positive link between the number of visits to diabetes experts and the risk of retinopathy. Patients may obtain current information, individualized assistance on lifestyle changes, and suitable therapies to maintain glycemic control and stop the start or progression of retinopathy through regular contact with healthcare specialists who specialize in diabetes management.
The study results stress the necessity for a multidisciplinary approach to diabetes treatment by emphasizing the critical role of diabetic nurse educators, nutritionists, and dietitians in patient care. These medical experts are crucial in equipping patients with the information and abilities they need to properly manage their conditions. Regular meetings with these experts help to assess patients’ progress over time, correct problems, and provide specialized solutions to enhance diabetic self-care and adherence to treatment plans.
The research’s conclusions also have an impact on how resources are allocated and healthcare policy. Initiatives encouraging improved access to educational programs and ensuring that patients get constant assistance from medical experts may result from the realization of the beneficial effects of regular visits to diabetes specialists in minimizing problems like retinopathy. This can include adjusting healthcare systems to allow for routine educational events and forming partnerships between primary care physicians and specialists to improve patient education.
In conclusion, the correlational analysis results obtained highlight the critical importance of routine visits to dietitians, nutritionists, and diabetes nurse educators in lowering the risk of diabetes-related complications, particularly retinopathy. These results highlight the significance of patient support and education as the cornerstones of diabetes treatment, empowering patients to actively participate in the successful management of their illness. Healthcare professionals may utilize this information to develop specialized therapies and strategies to improve patient outcomes and raise the general quality of life for people with diabetes since retinopathy is a common complication with substantial consequences.
References
Cole, J. B., & Florez, J. C. (2020). Genetics of diabetes mellitus and diabetes complications. Nature reviews nephrology, 16(7), 377-390.
Shi, J., Zhang, C., Zhao, Q., Zhang, X., Guo, L., & Jia, T. (2023). Experience of patients with diabetic retinopathy: A qualitative study. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 79(5), 1789-1798.
Teo, Z. L., Tham, Y. C., Yu, M., Chee, M. L., Rim, T. H., Cheung, N., … & Cheng, C. Y. (2021). The global prevalence of diabetic retinopathy and projection of burden through 2045: systematic review and meta-analysis. Ophthalmology, 128(11), 1580-1591.
Wong, T. Y., & Sabanayagam, C. (2019). The war on diabetic retinopathy: where are we now? Asia-pacific Journal of Ophthalmology (Philadelphia, Pa.), 8(6), 448.
The dataset used in the analysis:
NHANES 2015-2016: Diabetes Data Documentation, Codebook, and Frequencies (cdc.gov)