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The Diabetes Day Treatment experiment: a preliminary report on what we learned
L E Hendricks1, R T Hendricks1, A L Young2
1LCHA's Diabetes Self-Management Skills Training Center, Wheaton, Maryland (Dr Hendricks and Ms Hendricks)
Purpose:
This paper presents data on the efficacy of a diabetes day treatment program to modify the healthcare behavior of elderly African Americans with diabetes.
Methods:
African American patients with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes who were referred by their certified diabetes educator were eligible to participate in the day treatment program. The program was designed to serve eight patients for 4 hours 1 day a week over 9 months. Participants engaged in informal discussions, low-impact armchair exercises, and discussions of various diabetes issues. A flow sheet was initiated and maintained by the investigators to record information pertaining to each participant's blood pressure, blood sugar, and weight at each session. Attendance and reasons for not attending sessions were recorded. To obtain more in-depth information, the group leaders used a technique known as participant observation.
Results:
Having CDEs administer a blood sugar test, take blood pressure, and weigh each patient at each clinic visit promotes patient adherence to the diabetes treatment regimen. Memory loss was observed to be especially prevalent among the subjects.
Conclusions:
The Diabetes Day Treatment Program may be used as a model for working with elderly persons with diabetes from different ethnic groups.