A Provider-Focused Educational Intervention on Prediabetes Screening and Lifestyle Modifications

Abstract

Purpose. This quality improvement (QI) project aimed to improve the confidence, knowledge, and intent among providers in a primary care setting about the Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes (SMCD) screening recommendations and prediabetes lifestyle modifications following an educational presentation. The goal was to encourage the adoption of the SMCD into daily practice.Background. Primary care providers are essential in detecting and treating patients with prediabetes. Unfortunately, 84% of individuals with prediabetes are unaware of their diagnosis. However, regular screening and lifestyle modifications can help prevent and delay prediabetes from advancing into type 2 diabetes. Utilizing the SMCD screening guideline is an effective resource providers can use in clinical practice to screen and manage prediabetes. Methods. Participating providers attended an educational session, “Prediabetes Screening and Lifestyle Modifications,” about best practice recommendations for screening for prediabetes and evidence-based lifestyle changes based on the SMCD guideline. Two post-surveys were completed to measure knowledge, confidence levels, and provider intent to implement the SMCD guideline into practice. The surveys evaluated the effectiveness of the educational session by evaluating participants’ perceptions of confidence and knowledge levels. Results. Participants showed statistically significant improvement in confidence, knowledge, and intent after the educational presentation. The mean percentage of knowledge by participants improved by 15%. Collectively, there was a 0.2 increase in participants’ sustained confidence levels, suggesting that the implementation successfully improved and retained knowledge and confidence among participants. Conclusions. Overall, the confidence, knowledge, and intent to utilize the SMCD in practice improved following the educational presentation, “Prediabetes Screening and Lifestyle Modifications.”