Effectiveness of the modified "Diabetic teaching tool" in group instruction

• Main Author: Burke, Matilda
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/18932

This experimental study was designed to determine if the modified "Diabetic Teaching Tool" was an effective tool for use in group instruction. The "Diabetic Teaching Tool" was developed for individual instruction and tested in an earlier study by Skelton. This study was conducted, aver a four-month period, at a large urban hospital during the regularly scheduled diabetic class. All patients who attended and who met the criteria of the study were asked to participate. A total of twenty-four subjects agreed to participate and their written consent was obtained. The first twelve subjects were assigned to the control group and received group instruction by means of the diabetic teaching program of the institution. The remaining twelve subjects were assigned to the experimental group and received group instruction by means of the modified "Diabetic Teaching Tool". Each patient was given a test of diabetic learning before commencement of the instruction and again two to seven days after completion of the instruction. A profile sheet was completed at the time of the administration of the posttest. The two groups of subjects were found to be highly similar when compared on the demographic and diabetic characteristics obtained from the profile sheet. The t-test was used to analyze the test results. No statistically significant difference between the two groups was found. Then the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was used to compare the test results and selected demographic and diabetic characteristics. The selected characteristics were age at testing, education, age at onset of diabetes, reason for current admission to hospital or visit to the doctor and the length of time since diagnosed. No significant relationship was found between the test results and these characteristics for the control group. The only characteristic to be significantly related to test results for the experimental subjects was the length of time since diagnosed. The final comparison was between the experimental subjects of this study and those of the study conducted by Skelton. The two groups of subjects were highly similar when compared on the demographic and diabetic characteristics. The mean score obtained on the subtests of the test of diabetic learning was similar for both groups. The study concludes with suggested implications, recommendations for changes in the test of diabetic learning and recommendations for further research. === Applied Science, Faculty of === Nursing, School of === Graduate