The purpose of this comparative study was to investigate the effect of coaching,
as a nursing intervention, on comfort levels and blood sugar levels of individuals with
diabetes. The hypothesis of the study was that individuals with diabetes who received
coaching at specified intervals of time would have higher levels of comfort, as measured
by the Diabetes Mellitus Comfort Questionnaire (DMCQ), and lower blood sugar levels,
as recorded on the individual’s personal glucometer, than individuals with diabetes who
did not receive coaching. Prior to conducting the study, approval of the university review
board and hospitals was obtained. Participants were solicited from two accredited
hospital-based diabetic education programs in a Midwestern city. Participation in the
study was voluntary. The participants solicited from one hospital-based diabetic
education program received coaching as a nursing intervention throughout the study
while the participants from the other hospital-based diabetic education program did not.
The participants were enrolled in the study the last day of the diabetic education program
and completed a demographic data form, the DMCQ, and the Self Care InventoryRevised
(SCI-R) to measure compliance. They also documented the average of their
daily blood sugar levels from the past seven days as recorded on their personal
glucometer. Two and four weeks after enrolling in the study participants from each
group repeated the process of completing the DMCQ, the SCI-R, and documenting the
average daily blood sugar levels over the past seven days as recorded on their
glucometers. One hospital-based diabetic education group received coaching from the
researcher via a telephone call two and four weeks after completing the formal diabetic
education program and prior to completing the DMCQ, the SCI-R, and documenting their
average daily blood sugar from the next seven days. Confidentiality of data collected
from the participants was maintained. There was no risk of harm. Of the participants
enrolled in the study, there were 30 participants who completed the study for one group
and 35 participants who completed the study for the other group. Analysis of variance
was used to analyze the data. Results showed no significant difference in comfort levels,
compliance scores, or blood sugar levels between the two groups. The hypothesis of the
study was not supported. Nonetheless, the information obtained from this study is
valuable to nursing by contributing to the growing body of knowledge for developing
cost-effective education and supportive strategies for individuals with diabetes to manage
their condition. / Department of Educational Studies
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:123456789/194708 |
| Date | 06 July 2011 |
| Creators | Kerrigan, Anita Cimino |
| Contributors | Weaver, Roy A., 1947- |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
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