Nurse perceptions of the challenges of providing self-management education in Primary Health Care to people with newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetes

BACKGROUND As primary care nurses have become increasingly involved in the provision of Diabetes Self-Management Education (DSME) and the care of newly diagnosed patients with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D), it is important to explore the challenges associated with this role. AIM The objective of this study was to explore the perceptions of primary care nurses of the challenges they face in providing DSME to newly diagnosed patients with T2D. Further aims were to explore current knowledge bases, training backgrounds and education content to determine their consistency and to understand whether current nursing guidelines are incorporated into DSME and if they are found to be useful in practice. METHOD Ten Practice Nurses with Diabetes as a Special Interest (PNDSI) participated in audio-taped, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews. Data was analysed thematically using Thomas’s (2006) general inductive approach as a guide. FINDINGS The following key themes were identified: 1) the primary care nursing Role in DSME; 2) the challenges of providing DSME; 3) how nurses dealt with the challenges of providing DSME; 4) what nurses considered to be the main points of DSME; 5) resources used for DSME; 6) guidelines; 7) confidence and preparation for providing DSME; 8) cultural training in the DSME setting 9) nurse education and training. CONCLUSION The nurses’ perceptions of their role in the care of patients newly diagnosed with T2D varied, but many indicated that it had evolved to encompass more complex aspects of DSME. The challenges they faced included achieving patient comprehension of DSME concepts and access to care. The nurses accessed further education as they perceived necessary rather than to meet role requirements. National diabetes management guidelines were considered useful for standardising and supporting practice, but were used only as a guide for providing individualised patient care. Understanding cultural practices was viewed to be important to improve health outcomes particularly for Māori patients. DSME educational resources used by nurses varied, and the study’s results suggest further research around the content and usefulness of current educational material may be beneficial to ensure consistency of information for nurses and patients.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Nursing

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Grantor

Eastern Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2013

Author dc:creator

• Topp, Maia

• New Zealand
• practice nurses
• primary health care
• type 2 diabetes
• roles
• perceptions
• cultural training
• Māori
• patient education
• self-management
• interviews

Statement dc:rights

• All rights reserved

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10652/6495

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:null:10652/6495